The Minority specialist subjects project has been led by Cumbria Institute of the Arts and Plymouth College of Art.

Plymouth College of Art have looked at the following:

1. Conducting research on 'Ideological Constructs: Past Visions / Future Possibilities Evaluating the Endangered Subjects in the Context of Emerging Global Sustainability and Environmental Agendas'.

The aims of this project are to investigate the ways in which the Applied Arts, as Minority specialist subjects, are being affected by and are responding to current debates around sustainability; and to explore whether the agendas developing around sustainability and environmental issues offer opportunities for the Applied Arts to formulate practices, identities, positions and markets, in ways that might reconnect them to contemporary social, cultural and economic imperatives; i.e. recover an ideological purpose.

More information including project reports and a blog focused around craft & sustainability issues is available on their website:
crafts-and-sustainability.plymouthart.ac.uk/

A conference, 'Making Futures: The crafts in the context of emerging global sustainability agendas' was held in September 2009 by Plymouth College of Art in relation to this strand of the project.
You can find out more information at: http://makingfutures.plymouthart.ac.uk