The Collect 2026 contemporary craft and design fair opens at Somerset House in London from February 27 to March 1, under new director TF Chan. Featuring over 400 artists from more than 50 nationalities across 40 galleries, the event showcases works in ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery, metalwork, textiles, wood, and sculpture. Collect Open presents new commissions by 11 artists exploring material and narrative themes.
Coordinated by the Crafts Council, Collect has championed the artisanal movement for over 20 years and remains a key event in London's design calendar. This edition marks the first under TF Chan, who brings changes including increased international representation with new exhibitors from France, Japan, Poland, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The fair includes 14 new participants, such as House of Bandits, Gallery Fumi, Max Radford Gallery, Mia Karlova Galerie, and WAJOY.
Materials on display range from traditional ceramics and glass to unusual elements like oak leaves, denim, discarded shopping bags, and moss, often integrating digital technology. The event bridges contemporary craft and collectible design, presenting emerging artists alongside established makers, with most works produced in the past five years.
Collect Open, supported by Spinocchia Freund, features commissions like Jihyun Kim’s ‘Salty Fairy Rings’, ceramics inspired by South Korean salt jars for warding off evil spirits, arranged on grassy plinths for immersion. Other highlights include Kamila Ahmed’s deep blue embroidered textile installation ‘The Life Above’ and Olly Fathers’ marquetry work ‘A Drop in Time’ using 4,000-year-old bog oak.
The ‘Metamorphosis – Craft from Poland’ exhibition by the Creative Industries Institute showcases nine artists, including Marcin Rusak’s ‘Flora Lamp II’, a table light from tinted resin and reclaimed flowers. Max Radford Gallery focuses on UK practices with artists like EJR Barnes, whose new collection pairs frosted glass, aluminium, and pear wood. Gallery Fumi presents a solo by Kobina Adusah, featuring terracotta clay sculptures like ‘The Thermopotes’ inscribed with hand-made patterns.
Enhancements include the Collectors’ Lounge, reimagined by Tola Ojuolape in celadon green as a space for conversation and display. Ojuolape describes it as ‘part work area, part experiential installation... a living archive or lab’. A public talks programme features discussions on collectible design with gallerists Mia Karlova and Max Radford, designer Tola Ojuolape, and Annalisa Rosso from Salone del Mobile.
In an interview, Chan emphasizes craft’s relevance amid digital life: ‘As we spend more of our lives in the digital realm, we need craft to remind us of the pleasure of tangible, tactile objects.’ The fair offers pieces starting at £500, welcoming first-time buyers through knowledgeable smaller galleries.
