Art collectors and their collections make up an important part of the contemporary arts and crafts infrastructure. Not only do museums and art collectors improve an artist's financial situation by buying their work, but their collections also have symbolic meaning. To be included in the right collection can give an artist a high level of recognition; at the same time, the purchase secures their work a place in a system whose aim is to preserve art for the future. Collecting is a selection process which has economic, social, political and art historical implications, and consequences for the artist, the art scene and the public. In On Collecting the authors look at collecting from public, private and personal perspectives to shed light on some of the structures that are responsible for how artworks become 'collectable' and thus available to the public in museums and public spaces. On Collecting is the fourth volume in the series Documents on Contemporary Crafts. The series is published by Norwegian Crafts and offers critical reflection on contemporary crafts, seeking to stimulate discourse within the field. With essays by: Glenn Adamson, Liesbeth den Besten, Paul Derrez, Eivind Furnesvik, Margaret Wasz, Trude Schjelderup Iversen, Gunnar Kvaran, Knut Ljogodt, Nanna Melland, Yuka Oyama, Anthony Shaw and Petter Snare.

Documents on Contemporary Crafts is a book series published by Norwegian Crafts in collaboration with Arnoldsche Art Publishers. The series provides a critical reflection of contemporary crafts in a wider context and in doing so asks questions about the ties between contemporary craft, fine art and design, thus helping to redefine the concept of crafts as such. The five volumes discuss such topics as skills, materiality, curating, collecting, perception and New Materialism. The more than thirty contributors range from leading craft theorists, such as Jorunn Veiteberg, Glenn Adamson and Liesbeth den Besten, via academics outside the craft tradition, such as Roger L. Kneebone, professor of surgical education, Trevor Marchand, professor of social anthropology, and Margaret Wasz, consultant psychological therapist, to emerging voices like Sarah R. Gilbert, Marianne Zamecznik and Stephen Knott. No. 1: Museum for Skills. Skills are essential to the crafts discourse. Yet in an art world that for the last 50 years has become increasingly focused on conceptual strategies, we have seen the tendencies of deskilling and outsourcing. In Museum for Skills, the contributors analyse the current situation for skills by drawing on experience from the fields of brain research, surgery and anthropology. No. 2: Materiality Matters. If materiality is a quality-related concept in both contemporary crafts and contemporary art, are we talking about the same notion? Or is there a fundamental difference between, on one hand, a maker's confidence in his or her materials, and on the other, a contemporary artist's use and adaption of a given material? No. 3: Crafting Exhibitions. Curatorial discourse has been an increasingly important aspect of contemporary art. The curator took on a new role as the 'author' of the exhibition. Crafting Exhibitions introduces some of the processes that go into making an exhibition, from developing concepts to the physical realisation. The contributors offer different approaches to exhibitions. No. 4: On Collecting. Collections make up an important part of the contemporary arts and crafts infrastructure. Collectors and museums help improve the financial situation of artists. Additionally, to be included in the 'right' collection or museum can give an artist a high level of recognition and preserves the art works for the future. On Collecting offers insights into collecting from different perspectives and sheds light on some of the structures that determine the 'collectability' of works of art. No. 5: Material Perceptions. Contemporary craft objects can be perceived for instance, as works of art in ceramics, glass, textile, metal and wood, or as functional, handmade and everyday objects. Material Perceptions investigates contemporary crafts as representations of reality that do not rely on the concept of autonomy, unravelling the dualism between aesthetic objects and everyday things. Norwegian Crafts is a non-profit organisation founded by the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts in 2012. Norwegian Crafts initiates and produces exhibitions in collaboration with Norwegian and international institutions, curators and artists. The aim is to strengthen the position of contemporary craft from Norway internationally, contribute to the development of the artists' careers and stimulate further exchange across national borders in the field of crafts.

There are many ways to perceive and interpret contemporary craft objects - for instance, as works of representational art in materials like ceramics, glass, textile, metal or wood, or as functional, handmade everyday objects. In this publication, the editors have invited different voices in craft theory to investigate the perception of contemporary craft as a particular discourse and aesthetic vocabulary. According to the editors, contemporary crafts can benefit from being discussed as representations of reality that do not rely on the concept of autonomy. As such, neither do they rely on the conventional dualism between aesthetic objects and everyday things. The authors investigate the possibility to perceive craft objects from perspectives that relate to the aesthetic tradition of materialism.