Geoffrey Mann is a British artist, designer and academic whose work reimagines the boundaries between craft, design and digital technology. Mann studied 3D Design at Gray’s School of Art before completing an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art in London in 2005. He is considered an influential and shaping practitioner within the Digital Craft movement of the early 2000’s, significant because his work moved beyond using digital tools for precision or replication. Instead, he employed them to capture ephemeral phenomena - sound, motion, fracture and translate them into materially expressive objects.
Projects such as Crossfire and Attracted to Light positioned digital systems not just as fabrication devices but as generative collaborators capable of introducing distortion, error and unpredictability. This conceptual framing helped shape how digital craft was understood in critical discourse: not as “high-tech craft,” but as a rethinking of authorship, agency and material translation.
Mann’s work has been acquired by significant public collections worldwide. These include the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York part of the Design and Architecture collection; the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York; as well as the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Craft Council England collection, V&A Dundee, the National Library of Scotland and Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections Throughout his career Mann has received several prestigious international awards and recognitions. He won the World Craft Council Prize for Glass in 2008 and the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize in 2009. Earlier in his career he was awarded the New Designers Bombay Sapphire Award and twice shortlisted for the International Bombay Sapphire Prize. In 2012 he was recognised as a Designer of the Future by Newsweek magazine alongside Martino Gamper and the Verhoeven Twins (DeMakersVan).
Alongside his studio practice, Mann has made significant important contributions to design education in the UK over the last 20 years, serving as a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in BA and PG Craft programmes at Manchester School of Art, part of Manchester Metropolitan University, and previously Programme Director of Glass at Edinburgh College of Art. His teaching emphasises critical engagement with both technological and material processes, mentoring a new generation of designers who work across disciplinary boundaries.
Mann’s work continues to provoke and inspire, drawing attention to the poetic possibilities of Post-Digital craft and the unseen forces shaping our world. By blending analytical technologies with the traditions of making, he creates work that is intellectually rich, formally surprising, and deeply resonant.
CV Download (click)
Agent Representation
Sapar Contemporary, New York, USA
Education
03 - 05 Royal College of Art, MA Ceramics and Glass, London, UK
98 - 02 The Robert Gordon University, Grays School of Art, BA (Hons) 3D Design, Aberdeen
Employment
19 - Present Programme Leader, Senior Lecturer, Product Design & Craft, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University
13 – 19 Programme Director, Glass, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
Lecturer, BA Product Design, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
Lecturer, MSC Material Practice, School of Architecture, University of Edinburgh
07 – 13 Course Leader Product Design BDes, Grays School of Art, Aberdeen
External Examiner
26 - Present Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art, London
25 - Present Ulster University, Belfast School of Arts, Belfast
25 - Present University of the Creative Arts, Farnham
21 - 25 Arts University Plymouth
Visiting Artist/Lecturing
17 Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK
15 Plymouth College of Arts, Plymouth, UK
13 PNCA,CT&CR, Portland, USA
10 Pratt Institute, ID dept, Brooklyn, USA
The School for American Crafts, RIT, Glass dept, Rochester, USA
Columbia College, Design Dept, Chicago, USA
School of the Art Institute Chicago, Ceramics dept, Chicago, USA
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Ceramics dept, Bloomfield Hills, USA
University of Michigan, Design dept, Ann Arbour, USA
Edinburgh College of Art, Architecture dept, Edinburgh UK
09 Danish Design School, Ceramics & Glass dept, Copenhagen, Denmark
Alfred University, Ceramics & Glass dept, Alfred NY, USA
07 De Montfort University, Product Design dept, Leicester, UK
University of Central Lancashire, Ceramics Dept, Preston, UK
05 | 06 University College of the Creative Arts, 3DD dept, Farnham, UK
04 University of Plymouth, 3DD dept, Exeter, UK
Guest Speaker
18 Making It, Manchester School of Art, MMU, Manchester, UK
17 Body Object Enclosure Symposium, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
WIRED x Glenfiddich, Experimental Series, Dufftown, UK
16 Northlands Creative International Symposium, University of Edinburgh, UK
Shaping the Future, North West Craft Network, University of Bolton
15 Plymouth College of Arts, Plymouth, UK
14 Gayfield Twilight Talk, Edinburgh, UK
University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK
13 In-Conversation, Reed College of Art, Portland, USA
12 I Am Seeing Things, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh
Pecha Kucha #18, Inspace, Edinburgh
Jerwood one year on, Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
11 SoFA New York, Park Avenue Armory, USA
10 LISA, Salon, New York, USA
In Conversation, DCA, Dundee, UK
Inter-Changes: Craft & Context, NCAD, Dublin, IRE
09 Digital Design (&) Art, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
In Conversation, Dovecote Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Meet the Makers, Jerwood Space, London, UK
Digital Design (&) Art, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
BECon, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA
ExMachina,RIBA, Artquest, London, UK
07 London Metropolitan University, Gold Works, London, UK
06 Guldagergaard, Ceramics Research Centre, Skaelskor, Denmark
Exhibitions (selection 09 - 23)
23 History of Making: stories of materials and makers, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, UK
New Positions: stories of materials and makers, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, UK
Taste the World : The Banquet of Wonders, Musee du vin de Champagne et d’Archeologie, Epernay, FR
Manc Design, Base Milano, Milan, IT
22 At Home : panoramas de nos vies domestiques, Design Biennale Saint Etienne, Saint Etienne, FR
21 The Makers Eye: selected by Caroline Boardhead& Neil Brownsword, Craft Council Gallery, London, UK
18 The Art of Glass, NCCD, Sleaford, UK
The Scottish Galleries, V&A Dundee, Dundee, UK
The Art of Glass, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
17 Aqua Art Miami Rep. Industry Gallery, Miami, USA
Crossfire, Attracted to Light & Shine, Body Object Enclosure, Design Exchange, Toronto, Canada
Poise, Form + Motion, Cheongju Craft Biennale – UK Pavillion, Cheongju, South Korea
Poise, 3D Printing: The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful, NCCD, Sleaford, UK
16 Poise, NL20 Commissions, Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Atoms and Bytes, Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle, USA
Hybrids: Interspecies Collaborations, NCCD, Sleaford, UK
Out of Hand, Museum of Applied Arts & Science, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, AUS
15 This is for Everyone: Design Experiments for the Common Good, MoMA NY, USA
Design in Motion, V&A Dundee/Travelling Gallery, Touring Exhibition, UK
British Glass Biennale, International Festival of Glass, Stourbridge, UK
Brazilian Design Biennial, Florianópolis, Brazil
COLLECT with Joanna Bird, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
14 British Design: From William Morris to the Digital Revolution, Moscow Design Museum, The Puskin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, RUSSIA
Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco Rep. Industry Gallery, USA
Aqua Art Miami Rep. Industry Gallery, Miami, USA
Garden Party, Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh, UK
COLLECT with Joanna Bird, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
13 Out Of hand: Materializing the Postdigital, MAD, New York, USA
Language of Process, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Agents of the 3D Revolution, FADA Gallery, Johannesburg, SA
Applied Design, MoMA, New York, USA
Conversations électriques, La Panacée, Montpellier, FR
COLLECT with Joanna Bird, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Mark-ing, Gallery Libby Sellers, London, UK
Momentum, UH Galleries, Hatfield, UK
New Morphologies, Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred, NY
Form A Great Height, 4 Windmill Street Gallery, London, UK
12 I Am Seeing Things, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh
Utensil, The National Craft Galleries, Castle Yard, Kilkenny, IRE
Creativity is Great (Britain), British Business Embassy, London, UK
COLLECT with Joanna Bird, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Curious Minds – New Approaches in Design, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, IL
11 Power of Making, V&A Museum, London, UK
Mark-ing, E&Y Co, Toyko, JP
Talk To Me, MoMA, London, UK
Future Craft: Research Exposition, Anna Leonowens Gallery, Nova Scotia CA
COLLECT with CraftScotland, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
SoFA New York with Joanna Bird Pottery, Park Avenue Armoury, London, USA
Momentum, The Makers Guild in Wales touring Exhibition, Cardiff, UK
10 This Just In, MAD, NY, USA
Lab-Craft, Craft Council England Touring Exhibition, London, UK
Digital Solid, Valenciennes Design Art School, Valenciennes, FR
Prediction, Biennale International Design, Saint-Etienne, France
Action Design over Time, MoMA New York, USA
Future Craft: Research Exposition, DCA, Dundee, UK
On the Move, Visualising Action, Estorick Collection, London, UK
09 Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize, Jerwood Space, London, UK
Collect with CraftScotland, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York HQ, London, UK
Object Factory II, The Art of Industrial Ceramics, MAD, New York, UK
Tatorte, Passagen, Cologne, Germany
Talente, München, Germany
Accolades
12 The Art Fund Purchase Prize,Winner, London, UK
11 Creative Scotland Professional Development Grant,Edinburgh, UK
10 Vimeo International Video Awards,Shortlisted, New York, USA
09 Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize,Winner, London, UK
08 World Craft Council Glass – Europe,Winner, Overall prize EGC 2008, Denmark
International Bombay Sapphire prize, Shortlisted, Milan, Italy
05 Newcomers Bombay Sapphire Award, Winner, New Designers, London, UK
International Bombay Sapphire prize, Highly commended, London, UK
04 Generations, Highly commended, Rosenthal Design, Germany
Public Collections
Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections, Crossfire Wineglass
National Library of Scotland, Cromarty
Dallas Museum of Art, Shine
New Orleans Museum of Art, The Second Line
Corning Museum of Glass, Crossfire series
Norwich Castle Museum, Flight take-off
Cincinnati Art Museum, Crossfire series
Craft Council England collection, Shine & Crossfire series
MAD New York, Design and Applied Arts collection,Blown & Shine
MoMA New York, Design and Architecture collection, Attracted to Light
Publications
Digital Fabrication in Interior Design: Body, Object, Enclosure, Jonathan Anderson & Lois Weinthal, Routledge, UK
Art Beyond Digital, Dominique Moulon, LINK Editions, FR
New Glass Review 39, Corning Museum of Glass Press, USA
Digital Handmade: Craftmanship in the New Industry, Lucy Johnston, Thames and Hudson, UK
Postdigital Artisans: Craftmanship with a new aesthetic in Fashion, Art, Design and Architecture, Jonathan Openshaw, Frame Publishers, DK
Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital, Ronald Labaco, Black Dog Publishing, UK
The Invention of Craft, Glen Adamson, Bloomsburg, UK
New Technologies in Glass, Vanessa Cutler, Bloomsburg, UK
Limited Edition, Sophie Lovell, Birkhauser, Berlin, Germany
Digital by Design, Troika, Thames and Hudson, London, UK
New Natures: The Hybrid Landscapes, nITro, Il Prato, Rome, Italy
Perimeters, Boundaries and Borders, John Marshall, Fast-uk, Manchester, UK
Journal of Visualization, V.S.J, IOS Press, Tokyo, Japan
Organisations
World Craft Council - Europe,Honorary member
Craft Scotland, Professional Advisory Panel member
RAFT, Research Member, University of Edinburgh