BeCraft

BeCraft is a professional association promoting Applied Arts in the Wallonia and Brussels regions. ceramics, glass, jewellery, paper, textile, object design are, among others, the creative fields of the makers who are supported and promoted by it. BeCraft works in relationship with the WCC • Europe, within the global structure of the World Crafts Council.

Four main topics motivate BeCraft's actions: support and promotion, in Belgium and abroad, of its member artists; information and training for the public and craft professionals through exhibitions, conferences, workshops and guided tours.

The BeCraft Gallery is a showcase for the most recent creations of the member artists, always more innovative and daring. The rigor with which the works are selected and presented does not hinder the conviviality of the place, conducive to a tasting of tea in handmade bowls.

Special attention is paid to the makers of tomorrow. With this in mind, the association organise annually the exhibition Tremplin, a competition for newly graduated students from the art schools of Wallonia and Brussels. The exhibition of their graduation works reveals a new landscape of Belgian creation in full exploration while giving them a professional boost thanks to the prizes awarded on this occasion.

BeCraft does not only value Belgian artists. Numerous international exhibitions, organised in collaboration with other institutions, take place on its premises and are exported abroad afterwards. By offering the public and the artists the opportunity to contemplate the works of makers from all countries, BeCraft contributes to fostering dialogue, stimulation and the emulation of the Applied Arts.

Its participation in international exhibitions and fairs also confirms this goal by promoting artistic exchanges between Belgian and foreign creation while allowing its member artists to enjoy recognition across Europe.


Its history, its premises
Before being renamed BeCraft in October 2018, the association is known as the World Crafts Council - French-speaking Belgium (WCC-BF).

In 1980, the WCC-BF is founded with the support of the World Crafts Council, an NGO recognised by UNESCO. Starting with the unique driving force and the determination of the creators gathered around Anne Leclercq, ceramic teacher and founding member of the association, the WCC-BF ignores the difficulties encountered in promoting Creative Crafts and foster the living conditions of the makers. Gradually, the WCC-BF gains visibility and gets the support of public and private institutions such as the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, the City of Mons, the Province of Hainaut, the National Lottery, the European Union,… with which partnerships are made.

After more than twenty years of work driven by the permanent investment of Anne Leclercq - then also President of the WCC-Europe and Vice-President of the WCC- International - the WCC-BF finds a place up to its expectations. Since 2006, the association sits at the former Abattoirs of Mons. Built in Lombard style, in 1884 by the architect Charles François Sury, the premises are beautifully renovated by Atelier Matador and archiscenographer Philippe Roland in the spirit of their original function. The gallery of the association is located in the former barn together with its offices, which are designed as bivalent spaces of concentration and interaction with the public. It is in this building too that are held the permanent exhibition of the member artists’ works, the temporary exhibitions and the tea tasting afternoons.

The Great Hall, with a surface of 700m², hosts important temporarily cultural events organised by the association such as the International Triennials (European Triennial of the Contemporary Jewellery, European Triennial of Ceramics and Glass, the European Prize for Applied Arts).

The Fridge, meanwhile, is a conducive space to events in which video projections, conferences and workshops are regularly held.
In 2016, Anne Leclercq hands over to the new generation. Gaëlle Cornut henceforth provides direction to an institution that is then recognised across Europe. Today, at the dawn of its fortieth birthday, the renamed association pursues its primary goal of universalising the Applied Arts. BeCraft affirms its contemporary spirit and reinforces the promotion of makers in Belgium and abroad


Our facilities:
Temporary exhibition space
Showcase for crafts
Documentation centre


BeCraft (formerly WCC-BF) Staff:
Suzanne Papier, secretary - suzannepapier@wcc-bf.org
Johanne Schadron, project manager - johanneschadron@wcc-bf.org
Ornella La Vaccara, PR manager - ornellalavaccara@wcc-bf.org


Our contemporary jewellery creators
BeCraft brings together around twenty jewellery creators. Together they reflect the diversity of the actual creation in the contemporary jewellery's field thanks to their transdisciplinarity. Between tradition and modernity they ask the identity of the jewel through the contemporary art by their own creations increasing progressively the gap between the accessory and the art object.

Nevin Arig • Isabelle Azaïs • Isabelle Carpentier • Frédérique Coomans • Clémentine Correzzola • Aurore de Heusch • Wies Dehert • Anne Goy • Maria Fernanda Guzman • Delphine Joly • Lodie Kardouss • Claire Lavendhomme • Ikaros Moushouttas • Lou Sautreau • Chloé Noyon • Arnaud Sprimont • Dimitar Stankov • Dominique Thomas • Diederick Van Hovell • Karen Vanmol • Nelly Van Oost • Peter Vermandere • Monique Voz