What is 'We Made It?'

The eternal question of where “the arts” start and end is, of course, central to a lot that theartsdesk's writers think and talk about. Our focus may be on the traditional framing provided by gallery, concert hall, stage, screen or recording media, but we are always interested in the ways that the ideas and processes of the arts permeate into other fields. That's why we have, for example, placed video games alongside established artforms – and it's why we have created the new mini-feature series We Made It.

We Made It was inspired by discussions with friends at Bruichladdich distillery who had been developing ideas about how to explore the concept of craft in the 21st century on their website. As we brainstormed, we realised that this was a rich seam: the theme of craft and making allows us to reach into the worlds of technology, food, architecture, design and highlight some of the most interesting thinkers and makers active today, whether they're working with processes ancient or hyper-modern. 

Further, though, we realised that in a time when “artisanal” and “hand-crafted” are becoming debased terms, nothing more than signifiers for a hip aesthetic, the people we were looking at were those who swum against the tide and embodied something deeper: a sense that artisan and artist are one and the same. So, not only could theartsdesk's writers help Bruichladdich with their project, but this could be something worth including on our own site – and so this series was born. Over the weeks we hope it's going to build into something which doesn't just showcase uniquely fascinating people and their work, but casts light on the deeper ideas and mechanisms that make creative processes work today.