The Ateliers d'Art de France is the main body for craft in France, acts as flag-bearer for its members. It is a rough equivalent of the Crafts Council's National Register of Makers in Britain, in that it lists those working in the contemporary crafts and has a wide brief to support its members, to stage and promote their skills.

There is in France nothing to compare with the growth of the crafts industry in Britain over the last ten years. There is no parallel trend to the changes and emerging trends which are exemplified by Grayson Perry's winning the Turner Prize.

But the long tradition of top-level craftspeople, designer-makers known as "maîtres d'art", and the centuries-old organisations, based on traditional guilds, still thrive. Contemporary craft derived from these ancient skills now receives official encouragement as a result of the fact that this branch of the arts has been made part of the remit of the National Visual Arts Office (DAP). The DAP has a very unhelpful web site but the general resource site for the visual arts is www.cnap.fr (no English version).

Since the 1980s, the French government has made a special effort to promote contemporary design, establishing a national school of industrial design, setting up design departments in the Fine Arts schools, instituting an official purchasing policy, founding an agency to promote industrial design, and organizing museum exhibitions.

In Paris, the Industrial Design Center at the Pompidou Centre (www.cnac-gp.fr in English) and the Museum of Decorative Arts (Union des arts décoratifs) have opened new galleries devoted to industrial design. A specialized design magazine, Intramuros, has also been launched.

Design is progressively finding its place but the design profession is still relatively young. In the last couple of years, various events for the promotion of design have emerged, such as Designer's Days, set up by an organisationof the same name. From 9 to 16 June in 2005, 40 Parisian galleries, shops and department stores displayed contemporary design in a convivial atmosphere. See also Designer's Days.

Public collection

The FNAC national art colllection buys works to be placed in museums and public institutions. A specific commission is devoted to applied arts and design.

The "Maître d'art"

The title 'Maître d'art' which can be translated as 'grand master', is a prestigious title given for life by the Ministry of culture to master artisans. They take on the responsibility of maintaining a savoir-faire and train young apprentices in their art.

•   29 September FNAC
  address

  70, Voie des Sculpteurs, 92800 Puteaux
  telephone

  0033 1 46 93 02 50
  website

  http://www.fnac.culture.gouv.fr

  The FNAC national art colllection buys works to be placed in museums and public institutions. A specific commission is devoted to applied arts and design.

•   29 September Assembly of the Chambres de Metiers
  website

  http://www.apcm.fr

  The equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce for Arts and Crafts. Links to useful crafts-related sites.

•   29 September Council of Metiers d'art
  website

  http://www.metiers-art.culture.fr

  General site of the Ministry of Culture with information on the Métiers d'art standards.

•   29 September Les Maitres d'Artes
  address

  Association des maitres d'art, 20, rue Mayet, 75006 Paris, France
  email

  contact@maitresdart.fr
  website

  http://www.maitresdart.com/

  The title 'Maitre d'art' which can be translated as 'grand master', is a prestigious title given for life by the Ministry of culture to master artisans. They take on the responsibility of maintaining a savoir-faire and train young apprentices in their art.

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