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Our organisation has three membership groups, single members which are 24.000 located in 377 local groups, 140 craft producers in smal private enterprices ,and 35 craft shops located all around the country.we also have a membership cathegory called "Young Crafters", at the moment they are 1700 indivdual members and the cathegory is increasing. We are a democratic organisation with a national board which are elected by the organisation on our General Assembly every second year. Our members pay an annual membership fee, this includes our magzine and various membership benefits. We have a very stabile and slowly increasing number of members.
The organisation has 28 employies of this are the Body of consultans counting 18 highly skilled proffessional experts on folk art and craft practitioners.Each and one of the is the link between their regional groups and activity and the sentral administration in Oslo.In addition to this we have three Advisory Committees within the field of woven handicraft, National costumes and Wooden Hancicraft.The administrative part of the staff consist of the editor and journalist in our magazine, technical and bookeeping resourses, ecucational adviser and Adminitrative Director.
Our publication, the magazine Norsk Husflid( Horwegian craft) goes automatically to all 24.0000 members,and to external subskribers.It is published with 5 copies per year.and has been published for more than 40 years.
Our main activity is to mantain and develope the knowledge about and the skill within taditional craft.We offer and stimulate to activities all over Norway for adults and youngsters. We have a division called "Young Craft" wich organize workshops, training courses, contests etc for children and youngsters to introduce them to traditional craft and the joy of making themselves.Through activity for craftsproducers we stimulate to both mantain old and traditional techniques and to innovate products in order to make awarenessof our craft herritage among people of today.
Once a year, on the first Saturday in 'September we arrange a nationwide "Day of Crafts" ( Husflidsdagen). On this day there are hundreds of local exhibitions, markets, "open house-day", a huge variation of arrangements where traditional craft and craftmanship are promoted.
Objetivos
The Norwegian Folk art and Craft Association aims to preserve,maintain, develope and strengthen Norwegian folk art and traditional craft. We do this trough educational activities,publications and public activites such as exhibitions, contests etc.
For more than hundred years the organisation has been the main voluntary organisation in Norway which has inspired activities within the field of mantaining knowledge connected to traditional craft production.Our consultants working all over Norway, in every county, have for more than 50 years been the expertice on local craft tecniques and local knowledge about groups of producers and practitioners. Our consulens are working in a tight relation to our voluntary groups and also local and regional authorities.The headquarter of the organisation is placed in Oslo which make it possible to achieve contact with sentral politicians and through this promote actions in order to strenghten the focus on the importance of preserving and mantaining traditional craft as a knowledge and practical experience in ecucational programs, cultural programs for museums and as an inspiration and resourse in crafmanship production of today
The solid foundation underlying the work of our organisation is based on the voluntary work contributions within the local and regional membership devisions. These comunities contribute to the sthrengthening of social network, enabling the exchange mantainance and of handicraft skills within a large spectre of areas. The organisation is Norways largest organizer of adult training in folk art and handicraft. We offer about 3000 courses every year and aproxemately 15.000 people attend to our local and regional courses.
Cooperación
The organisation consist of 377 local and regional groups, the size of this may vary from 20 to 3000 members. We are in a constant cooperation with our groups through local projects, educational activity, contests,registrations for inventory lists, markets,public relation activityes. Our magazine, our facebook and homepage are our main communication channels with our members, in addtition to our regional consultants. In Norway we have a solid and regular cooperation with relevant NGOs such as the Centre for Intangible Heritage/Norwegian Craft Development at Lillehammer and the Norwegian Institute of bunads and folk costumes at Fagernes and especially in the summerperiode with many open air museums all over Norway.
On international level we are for about 75 years cooperating within the Nordic countries in a network "Nordic craft federation".Two times per year there are adminitrative meetings, every third year there are a Nordic craft conferrence where all members and local groups are invited.Every summer a family camp takes place with a lot of workshops, this is on rotation within the Nordic countries.Every second year a Nordic symposium for weaving is organized. All these activities aim to promote and mantain knowledge and pratcice in traditional crafts. All activities are kept on a non profit basis.
The Norwegian Folk art and Craft association is member of the European Folk Art and Craft Federation.The Federation has 10 national craft organisations (NGOs) as members.We have during the last 30 years been an active partner in several international projects and we have been involved in cooperation with one ore more of the other member countries in exchange of exhibitions, participating on international craft fairs and workshops with craftspersons from Norway etc.
We did also initiate an international project with craftsmen from the Northern African countries, this project was supported by the Norwegian Unesco Commision.