Bornholm Craft Weeks is taking a sustainable direction
Ceramics artist Maja Frendrup is one of the island's many craftspeople who find great value in Craft Weeks. ”I get more visitors to my workshop, as well as experiencing higher sales,” she says. Photo: Rasmus Kvist
The annual Bornholm crafts festival Craft Weeks has become a success that both attracts more visitors and highlights the island's status as an international centre for high-quality craft.
Bornholm Craft Weeks was developed under the Maker's Island Bornholm project as its signature event. It is a festival where locals as well as outside visitors can experience the vibrant craft community that has developed rapidly since Bornholm was awarded the title of World Craft Region in 2017.
That is according to Dorthea Funder Kaas, project manager for Makers Island.
– With Craft Weeks, which stretches over approximately 10 days in September, the island's many craftspeople showcase the great diversity of the trade. The materials range from wood, metals and concrete to stone, glass and textiles – and of course ceramics, she says, explaining that although these are deeply rooted traditions, more and more young craftspeople are creating their own new interpretations of the old crafts.
In 2025, Craft Weeks is created in close collaboration with the EU project HEPHAESTUS, which combines new technologies with traditional methods across European craft ecosystems. This is done to create new solutions in the form of tools, methods and sustainable business models, alongside formulating visions for the future of craft in the circular economy.
– This is primarily to safeguard traditional European crafts, but also to contribute to a socially, culturally, environmentally and economically sustainable future. Therefore, this year’s Craft Weeks have a sustainability focus, entirely in line with how we otherwise approach the development of Bornholm, she explains, noting that the sustainability dimension will be evident in several of the events featured in the programme – including Hephaestus’ own events, which will form part of the programme.
Crafts in growth
The sustainable and innovative aspect of the event gives artisans a unique opportunity to explore and challenge their strong material knowledge, believes Morten Riis, chairperson of the steering committee for Craft Weeks.
– It is clear that it is not the island's artisans who have the all-important carbon footprint, but the idea is that, as professional innovators, they can play a role in devising new ways of producing. And new ways of consuming. So when we focus and put the spotlight on a Bornholm business,
who are actually performing quite wildly these years, I think, helps to push them further along, he says, adding that the figures speak for themselves.
– The work we have done in Makers Island has had a direct influence on employment and turnover within arts and crafts. Employment among the island's artisans increased by 31 per cent from 2019 to 2022, while their income rose by 26 per cent in the same period, for which the latest figures are available, he says, adding that the arts and crafts sector also strengthens the island's tourism:
– Even though arts and crafts do not make up a large part of Bornholm's GDP, they mean a great deal to many of the visitors who come to the island, and within the world of destinations they have also increasingly become what is known as a ’reason to go’ for many of the visitors who come to Bornholm.
Festival attracts more
At the Bornholm ceramicist Maja Frendrup, it is also felt how Craft Weeks Bornholm is a major draw for tourists.
– I can really sense that Craft Weeks is starting to be a period when more people come out. I get more visits to my workshop, just as I also experience having more sales, because there are customers who might not otherwise have come past my shop.
Craft Weeks Bornholm has also encouraged her to expand her own business with new activities in the pottery workshop.
– I have my own studio, where I have held events and workshops. In that way, the event has also meant that I am doing something different than I otherwise would have done, says the ceramicist, who is experiencing great interest in her initiatives.
– My workshops always fill up, and it is a different way to meet people and those who come to the island with their children to try their hand at ceramics. As a craft maker, she is also in no doubt about the significance of an event like Craft Weeks.
– The event is truly something that strengthens the branding of Bornholm as an island of arts and crafts. It's particularly on Bornholm that we craftspeople view each other very much as colleagues and work together to tell the story of Bornholm's arts and crafts. And Craft Weeks are a big part of that narrative. It's something we all spend time putting together, to tell something about the arts and crafts and give people the opportunity to come and experience it, says Maja Frendrup.
As a former chair of ACAB (Arts & Crafts Association Bornholm), she has been involved from the beginning when the Craft Weeks event was born in 2021 following Bornholm being designated as a World Craft Region by the World Craft Council. That title also pleases Morten Riis:
– That is to say, Bornholm as a World Craft Region is characterised by having arts and crafts of a particularly high quality and standard. And with that title in hand, the regional municipality, well aided by the craftspeople, set about initiating Makers Island, which is a collaboration between players within arts and crafts that has been running since 2019. And municipal funding for this has been extended on two occasions, but at the end of 2025 that funding runs out, Morten Riis explains.
– Therefore, work is underway to try to find more municipal funds. But if that is not possible, preparations are being made for how the stakeholders themselves can to a greater extent play a crucial role for the initiative Makers Island and Bornholm Craft Weeks. For that is what has been so essential for this elevation of craft and design.
- BY JOAN ØHRSTRØM
Facts about Makers Island
Maker’s Island Bornholm is a collaboration between players within arts and crafts on Bornholm. The collaboration will translate Bornholm's title as a World Craft Region into concrete activities that communicate, maintain and develop Bornholm arts and crafts. Behind Maker’s Island Bornholm are the Arts & Crafts Association Bornholm, the Bornholm Art Museum, the Bornholm Centre for Crafts Grønbechs Gård, Hjorths Fabrik, The Royal Danish Academy in Nexø, Destination Bornholm, Business Center Bornholm and the Regional Municipality of Bornholm.