It has been such a joy this month to launch our new project with Fife African and Caribbean Network that has been over a year in the planning.
After our Crafted Selves exhibition two years ago, we were delighted to be able to connect with Fife African and Caribbean Network – an informal community-led organisation supporting and connecting people in Fife of African and Caribbean heritage. After discussing ideas of how to work together to develop a new project for Fife the network proposed designing and building a new bench. The bench would be a safe space for positive, informal conversations to take place between stranger – promoting community understanding and human connection.
It took some time to develop the right plan and find suitable funding. What felt very important was for the bench to be designed and built by someone of African and Caribbean heritage; someone who would have a strong understanding of the needs of the network from their own lived experience. It became swiftly apparent that there is not an abundance of racial and cultural diversity currently amongst craft furniture makers in Scotland.
We saw this as a fantastic opportunity to develop the skills of a new maker of African and Caribbean heritage who knew Fife and the experience of living and working here. It also became a chance to gain cross-cultural understanding and for immersive and reflexive conversations to happen as the bench was being made; not just taking place on the bench once it was completed.
We found an ally for the project in designer, craft maker and artist Simon Whatley. He has joined the project as a mentor and collaborator in the making and design of the project and the bench. He has also connected the project with Edinburgh Open Workshop who have joined the project as partners to provide further training as well as workspaces in which to build the bench.
Following a call-out for artists of all disciplines to apply to be our bench designer and mentee, we were delighted to meet Mike Delaitre, a Fife-based musician and artist. Mike has a background and skills in carpentry from his youth in Mauritius and continues his own self-taught projects.
After pulling all these threads together we were delighted to finally launch the project last week with a visit to Scottish Wood – a fantastic Fife business which provides a focus for sourcing sustainable wood for many makers across Scotland.
Mike and Simon began to work together in October with some online meetings discussing ideas and skills sharing in the lead up to the visit. The in-person site visit provided a great opportunity not only for us all to learn more about wood and the resources available at Scottish Wood. This was the perfect opportunity for Mike and Simon to start discussing their ideas for the bench with the material that they could use all around them for inspiration.
We visited the sawmill, workshops, and timber shops on the site with a very helpful and informative guide from the business.
Also joining us on the visit was Simon’s dog, Willow, who became a focal point and a joyous distraction for all of us during the day! We are all looking forward to seeing how this project develops and will keep everyone up to date with blog posts and via our social media as we go.
I hope you’ll enjoy the ride with us and come and spend some time on the bench once it is completed in 2026.
