Screening at the Skirball Cultural Center on November 12th
Be among the first to get a sneak peek at a segment of one of the newest episodes of the Peabody Award-winning PBS series Craft in America, PLAY. Celebrate the power of imagination and the child in all of us as the Skirball Cultural Center explores the ways in which play facilitates discovery, builds bridges, and enhances learning.
After screening the Noah’s Ark segment of the Craft in America episode, the Skirball will lead a panel discussion with artists, educators, and parents about the importance of incorporating play and imagination into arts education.
The segment will be introduced by Patricia Bischetti, Executive Producer and Director, Craft in America. The panel will be moderated by Rachel Stark, Vice President, Education and Family Programs, Skirball Cultural Center. Confirmed panelists include Jane Fung, Member, Skirball Teacher Advisory Council, and Dr. Kristin Vanderlip Taylor, Associate Professor of Art Education at California State University, Northridge.
FREE
Advance reservations recommended. Kids and Families welcome.
Sunday, November 12- Program Schedule
10:30 am: Doors open
11:00 am: Screening and Panel Discussion
12:00 pm: Refreshments, complimentary admission to Noah’s Ark
More information and to register, click here.
Smithsonian Craft Fashion + Home
Washington DC’s spectacular National Building Museum becomes the place to shop for the finest in contemporary wearable craft and home design. Collectors and shoppers will find all price ranges of one-of-a-kind works of art.
The show’s Preview Night Benefit October 5 offers an early opportunity to view and purchase crafts while enjoying cocktails and dinner.
When and Where
October 5-8, 2023
National Building Museum
401 F St, NW
Washington, DC
Judiciary Square Metro Stop
Advance Chance Opening Party
Thursday, October 5, 6-9pm $125 [RSVP Only]
Daily Admission $20
Friday, October 6, 11am-7pm [SI Badgeholder FREE]
Saturday, October, 7 10:30am-5pm
Sunday, October 8, 11am-4pm [BOGO bring a friend]
Website for more information:
https://smithsoniancraft2wear.org/
The Smithsonian Women’s Committee (SWC) produces the show to celebrate the finest in American contemporary craft and design. Artists are selected from a pool of applicants by a panel of jurors. Proceeds support grants to the Smithsonian for innovative education, outreach and research projects.
About the Smithsonian Women’s Committee
The Smithsonian Women’s Committee is dedicated to advancing the Smithsonian’s mission to increase and diffuse knowledge. Founded in 1966, SWC celebrates fine American craft through the Smithsonian Craft Show. The committee awards grants and endowments throughout the Smithsonian from funds raised at its shows.
Consuelo Jimenez Underwood on PBS NewsHour
Consuelo Jimenez Underwood was featured on PBS Newshour about her American flag works in the exhibit Flagged for Discussion at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Consuelo Jimenez Underwood was featured in the THREADS episode of Craft in America and exhibited her work at the Craft in America Center.
Ceramic Beacon closing reception
Please join us at the Riverside Art Museum for the closing reception of Ceramic Beacon on Sunday, July 9 from 3-5pm. RSVP by Sunday, July 2, 2023 via https://ramcheech.ticketapp.org/portal/product/116
Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, CA, 92501
Known for conveying her prophetic take on contemporary life through playful and witty narratives in ceramics, this exhibition celebrates the sculptural and functional work of Joan Takayama-Ogawa. Ceramic Beacon is the first significant survey of this respected Pasadena born-and-based artist’s work thus far. When she decided to take a ceramics course at Otis College in 1986, she found her creative home. She has worked there as an artist and professor ever since. She has developed a language based on color, pattern, form, humor, outrage, and beauty.
Unequivocally and fearlessly spotlighting issues ranging from the housing crisis and fossil fuel dependency, to the pandemic, Internment camps, and human-induced species loss, Takayama-Ogawa makes objects that embody her world view and life experience. She draws the viewer into her intricate sculptures because they are a pleasure to behold. Her toylike reinventions of the miniature figurine and game board are intimate and irresistible sculpture satires. They lure the child in us all to look deeper. Once captivated by their elaborate detail, her work initiates a conversation.
Art Smith: Jewelry, Jazz, and Jeté at MAD
Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m.
Join MAD for an evening of jewelry, jazz, and dance, as they celebrate the modernist jeweler Art Smith, whose work is currently on view in Jewelry Stories. Smith confronted barriers of race, sexual orientation, and class to become a successful purveyor of wearable sculpture. Among his clients were haute giltterati, such as Duke Ellington, Pearl Primus, and Lena Horne.
In honor of Smith, jazz singer Lezlie Harrison will perform a special selection of songs that embody the spirit of Smith’s work. The evening will also feature a modern dance performance by Kevin Boseman set to recordings of Art Smith’s recollections of his life and work, a screening of the Art Smith segment from our JEWELRY episode, and a conversation on Smith’s artistic inspirations and legacy.
The event is hosted and guest curated by Souleo.
Find out more about the event here.
Find tickets here.
Image: Installation of Art Smith’s 1948 brass neckpiece in Jewelry Stories
HOME / INSPIRATION Exhibits
As the longest Winter night in the Northern hemisphere approaches, Craft in America warmly invites you to our new exhibition from December 10, 2022 – March 11, 2023.
This dynamic show features woven and embroidered textiles, ceramics, woodwork, found object architecture, and intergenerational talent from Anishinaabe knowledge holders, Hmong matriarchs, woodworking folk schools, rogue architects, and more.
View a sneak peek of this exhibition featuring work from our latest Craft In America episodes (linked here): HOME / INSPIRATION. Stay tuned for upcoming events and Artist-run workshops we’ll be offering in the new year!
Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories
November 17, 2022–March 12, 2023
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049
Discover the extraordinary human stories behind five centuries of quilts. Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories features works by more than forty artists, including Harriet Powers, Bisa Butler, and Sanford Biggers. Come celebrate the artistry and vision of a diverse and largely under-recognized group of creators in an exhibition that brings to light stories that enrich, deepen, and complicate our understanding of the American experience.
Fabric of a Nation illuminates the unique capacity quilts have to tell stories and convey a sense of humanity. Whether produced as works of art or utilitarian objects, their tactile, intricate mode of creation and traditional use in the home impart deeply personal narratives of their makers and offer an intimate picture of American life. Originally organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Skirball’s presentation will feature additional works by Los Angeles artists Sabrina Gschwandtner, Ramsess, and Sula Bermúdez-Silverman, as well as a quilt from its own collection highlighting key moments in American Jewish history.
For more information, visit skirball.org/exhibitions/fabric-nation-american-quilt-stories
de la Torre Brothers Retrospective Exhibition
Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective
June 18, 2022–January 22, 2023
This exhibition is a retrospective exhibition of work spanning almost three decades by Einar and Jamex de la Torre at The Cheech, in Riverside, California. Their unique work is based on their Mexican-American bi-cultural experiences, using a combination of glass, found objects, mixed media, and critical thinking. To learn more, visit riversideartmuseum.org/exhibits/collidoscope-de-la-torre-brothers-retro-perspective.
The de la Torre brothers were featured in the Pilchuck Glass School segment in the COMMUNITY episode.
Chihuly in The Desert: A Two-Part Exhibition Debuts in Phoenix and Scottsdale
Dale Chihuly, the American artist renowned for revolutionizing the studio glass movement, currently has a new exhibition, Chihuly in The Desert, in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. The two-part exhibition takes place at Desert Botanical Garden and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Chihuly’s installations harmonize with the beauty and diversity of the environment, showcasing a remarkable confluence of American art and architecture set amid the magnificent backdrop of the Sonoran Desert. Spanning across two iconic Arizona locations, the installations are featured across multiple settings – inside the buildings, on the lawns, in the water, and emerging from the desert itself. The exhibition features new works being shown for the first time and is on view to the public through June 19, 2022.
“I’m thrilled to share my work with visitors of these iconic locations,” said Dale Chihuly. “Returning to Desert Botanical Garden and presenting my work for the first time at Taliesin West is a special moment for me and I hope those who see the exhibition will experience something beautiful and unexpected.”
Dale Chihuly is known for ambitious architectural installations in cities, museums, and gardens around the world. He utilizes a variety of media to realize his creative vision, including glass, paint, charcoal, neon, ice, and Polyvitro.
Watch the Pilchuck Glass school segment of the Craft in America COMMUNITY episode.
Piñata Memory Project
What is your most vivid piñata memory? Whether it is breaking one at a birthday party or picking one out in the piñata district, we invite you to share your piñata memories and photos with us. Come to the Craft in America Center to add your memory to our community piñata, or send us an email with your piñata story and/or photo to rsvp@craftinamerica.org. Be sure to include your name, age, and where you are from.
When I was little we lived in a little town north of Denton Texas. We lived on a dairy farm and didn’t even have a bathtub in our tiny house. My mom wanted me to have a special birthday since it was in December- so she bought a piñata for me! It was so cool and special and shaped like a bear with green fringe. At my party, my friends and I hit it and hit it and hit it but it wouldn’t break open. So we tore it open and it was only filled with newspaper. My mom thought it was already filled with candy and prizes because it was so expensive for us. We still laugh about that to this day. It was still a great party and I still love piñatas!
Kati Odom, Kansas City MO, Age 55
Tios standing in the roof pulling the piñata rope! from @jen.mar10 from Instagram