The Woman's Hour Craft Prize exhibition at Mottisfont

Mottisfont showcases bold, beautiful and brilliantly diverse works by the finalists of the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize from 25 April – 24 June. From a bespoke bicycle to giant willow sculpture, this exhibition provides an important snapshot of how contemporary British craft connects with the world today.

A collaboration between the Crafts Council, V&A and BBC Radio 4, the prize was established to celebrate the most innovative and exciting craft practitioner or designer-maker resident in the UK today. 29 experts whittled down over 1,500 applications to select the 12 finalists on show, and Mottisfont is one of the first locations on a country-wide tour of these fascinating works.

There are ceramics, darned textiles and conceptual glass sculptures. A dissolving fountain of clay, made by Phoebe Cummings, was chosen as the winning creation. Due to its temporary nature Mottisfont’s exhibition will include an element of the original artwork and a short film.

Romilly Saumarez Smith has transformed the stories contained in discarded everyday objects - including Tudor glass and an Anglo Saxon ring - into 18th-century inspired snuff boxes. A specialist in sculpture and bookbinding, Laura Youngson Coll’s intricate sea creature-like sculptures are made from vellum and inspired by nineteenth-century biologist Ernst Haeckel.