British ceramicist and author Edmund de Waal has added his name to the growing list who are fighting the proposed closure of Falmouth University’s contemporary crafts degree.

De Waal added his signature to a now 6,800 strong petition of students, alumni, academics, craftspeople and regional businesses against the closure of the course, arguing that the provision of contemporary crafts course at Falmouth is “vital to the Cornish economy and creative culture.”

De Waal’s support follows his recent warning to the Government that failure to support crafts education threatens the creation of a new generation of makers crucial to sectors such as architecture, fashion and film.

The Save Our Crafts campaign, led by ceramicist and Falmouth University PhD researcher Matt Tyas, is calling for the immediate resumption of applications to the contemporary crafts degree and the establishment of a Crafts Action Group comprised of Falmouth students, alumni, regional practitioners and crafts-related organisations, to work closely with the course in order to establish its structural and financial viability for the future.

Matt Tyas has praised Plymouth College of Arts’ investment in a £7.7million state of the art Craft and Digital Design Workshop. He said: “Plymouth College of Arts’ research showed there was a demand for crafts education and graduate practitioners, so why can’t we justify a similar commitment to contemporary craft at Falmouth?

“The craft industry in West Cornwall accounts for a substantially higher proportion of the local economy than other parts of the UK, and the area has a long and prestigious history of craft which we have a responsibility to maintain. As one of the country’s leading arts universities, Falmouth’s course provision should be at the very centre of that.”

A spokesman for the university, said: “Falmouth University was recently recognised as the UK’s top arts university. To maintain this position and extend our international reach, we need a course portfolio that responds to student demand trends and to the changing employment opportunities in the global creative industries.

“This portfolio has to be financially sustainable and to align with the economic development priorities of Cornwall and its Local Enterprise Partnership. This means investing in some new areas of provision, such as digital games, computing for games and business entrepreneurship. But it also means looking carefully at courses that are particularly expensive to maintain, are of diminishing interest to students or could be better configured.

“The contemporary crafts course has a longstanding reputation and we are proud of the recognition many of our graduates have achieved.”