James Fox

Art historian and broadcaster James Fox says Britain has always been a craft land and what we built with our hands has defined and shaped our identities, communities and regions throughout the ages.

Fox records the vanishing skills and traditions that once governed every aspect of life in Britain. He explains how he travelled the length and breadth of the country to find the last remaining master craftspeople, from the blacksmiths and wheelwrights to the cutlers and coopers, bell-founders and watchmakers. Fox says that in an increasingly digital age these skills are more important than ever. They provide a deep connection between our creative instincts and the material world we live in.

Fox is an academic and Bafta-nominated broadcaster known for his many BBC documentaries. He is director of studies in history of art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, creative director of the Hugo Burge Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting the arts and crafts across Britain, and author of The World According to Colour: A Cultural History.