In January 2023, AAS unexpectedly received an email with an intriguing invitation to join a meeting of European organisations shaping a project to support rural craft practices through sustainable cultural tourism. The appeal was instant, as this was a perfect fit for work we do at AAS to support craft in Scotland. And that was the moment we become a partner in the CULTURALITY Project.
In April 2024, after 18 months of talking, planning and writing, the AAS CULTURALITY Project team of Clare Waddle, Netty Sopata and Carol Sinclair travelled to Oviedo in Asturias, Spain for the Project’s Kick Off Meeting. We were delighted to meet our new colleagues in person and find out more about what lay ahead in the next four years. And with a cheese festival taking place just outside our apartment, we were instantly immersed in Asturian hospitality.
The University of Oviedo, CULTURALITY Project’s lead partner, hosted the Project Kick Off Meeting. They warmly welcomed and gently eased all partners into a fascinating five day programme of meetings, visits, tours and exhibitions, all punctuated with wonderful food, locally made cider and fascinating conversations.
The first two days were spent in meetings, being introduced to the Project structure and activities, and becoming familiar with the partner organisations and their individual areas of expertise. One of the most appealing aspects of this Project was the opportunity to work with and learn from people from complementary disciplines working in other countries. We would all be putting our heads together to better understand the challenges and opportunities for craftspeople across Europe, and most importantly for AAS to be able to bring those benefits back to our Members. Details of all the Project partners can be found on the CULTURALITY Project website and in the logo below.
For the last part of our visit, Oviedo University provided a fascinating programme of activities to enable us to experience cultural tourism in their region. The CULTURALITY Project seeks to promote craft as a key component of sustainable tourism, but also to explore its relationship to other creative practices including gastronomy and music. Among many other things, we visited the fascinating caves used to mature Cabrales cheese in the town of Sotres, as well as one of the many cider producers in the region. But of course as makers we particularly enjoyed the chance to meet other craftspeople and to get our hands dirty making traditional clay bricks at LABoral Art Centre in Gijón.
As AAS’s first European Horizons project there was a lot for us to learn, including new terminology and reporting structures. Although our heads were spinning with all the new information we were trying to absorb, we were also really excited to get the Project started. We are truly fortunate to have such great project partners from across Europe who share our mission to champion craft and our maker communities.
Returning home we began the exciting task of planning our first ‘Rural Spot’ event. But what was that going to be and where was it going to happen… To find out more, read Netty Sopata’s blog, one in the CULTURALITY blog series.
Photographer of all images: Carol Sinclair
