The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge is launching "War Craft," an exhibition dedicated to art and objects created by non-professional soldiers on or near the front lines. Curated by Richard Kelleher, the show features a diverse array of items ranging from First World War shell cases engraved by the Chinese Labour Corps to a contemporary Ukrainian ammunition tin decorated with Sharpie drawings. The collection includes scavenged battlefield materials transformed into personal mementos, alongside significant works by established artists like J.M.W. Turner, John Singer Sargent, and C.R.W. Nevinson.
This exhibition matters because it shifts the focus from official war art to the creative output of ordinary artisans—woodworkers, metalworkers, and jewelers—who were thrust into conflict. By showcasing "trench art" and scavenged objects alongside canonical masterpieces, the museum highlights the human impulse to create amidst destruction. It also brings visibility to often-overlooked participants in history, such as the Chinese Labour Corps, providing a more inclusive and personal perspective on the material culture of warfare.