Homo Faber: Crafting a More Human Future brought together master artisans, designers, and makers from around the world for a major international celebration of craftsmanship on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. Presented by the Michelangelo Foundation in partnership with leading cultural organisations including UNESCO, the 2022 edition focused on the Living Treasures of Europe and Japan, highlighting exceptional skills, material knowledge, and traditions of making.
Townsend was invited to participate as a master artisan within Living Treasures of Europe and Japan, undertaking live demonstrations of her wax botanical sculpting techniques over three days. Working in front of a public audience, she shared a specialised process rooted in museum collections, conservation, and historic model making traditions, offering visitors an opportunity to observe the construction of botanical forms at close range.
Bringing together more than 400 artisans, designers, and makers from 43 countries, Homo Faber celebrated forms of knowledge sustained through making, from endangered traditional skills to contemporary craft practice. The invitation marked Townsend’s first participation in the event and recognised a rare expertise developed through more than two decades of working with natural history collections, scientific models, and wax botanical sculpture.
©Laura-Hinski-Photography
