Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada have released a new “Conceptual Framework for Cultural Statistics” document, announcing a critical improvement for the Craft Sector and our categorization in the StatsCan system.

Tom McFall, Alberta Craft Council Executive Director and long time proponent of systematic statistical change for Craft describes the changes as having “more recognition of cultural occupations as opposed to products.  Craft was formerly seen more as a form of trade or light manufacturing. There is now more potential to accurately document craft as a multi-facetted cultural career… There is also more attention to educational and other institution data. So, for instance, teaching, writing, curating, administering, etc. should now be taken more seriously as part of the craft or cultural economy.”

These changes have been a decade in the making, and would not have happened without the dedicated efforts of the CCF/FCMA”s Craft Working Group, including Tom McFall, Susan Hanrahan, Bernard Burton, Emma Quin, Anne Manuel, Louise Chapados, Maegen Black and the many others who toiled in the trenches. (Many other consultants also contributed to the changes, representing other cultural sectors.)

It was the goal of the Craft Working Group to see Craft moved from manufacturing to the cultural industry, correcting many inaccuracies (including a mixture of studio ceramics production with the mass manufacturing of porcelain goods … or to put it bluntly, toilets). We are happy to say the definitions have been updated, the categories realigned, and that future statistics will have better accuracy.

To see where Craft is placed as a distinct core sub-domain in the Arts, see the Canadian Heritage Chart which maps categories within the new system (below).

For more information on the new Framework as a whole, see here.

The CCF/FCMA will continue to work with Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada to ensure the new system is implemented accurately, and to push for new opportunities to obtain up to date statistics that truly represent our diverse, active, contributing industry.