Submissions Now Open for 2024 Minnesota Center for Book Arts Prize
The MCBA Prize, presented by Minnesota Center for Book Arts, honors excellence in new work from across the dynamic spectrum of book art. In 2022, they received 154 submissions from 17 different countries, from Chile to France. This year’s international competition will culminate in an exhibition in MCBA’s Main Gallery and a live virtual event revealing the winner.
Award benefits include:
1 WINNER
$2,000
4 FINALISTS
$500
20–30 SEMI-FINALISTS
Included in an exhibition in MCBA’s main gallery
ALL ENTRIES
Published on mcbaprize.org
Visit the MCBA Prize website to learn more about the submission and selection process. Since the prize’s inaugural year in 2009, hundreds of prize entries, finalists, and winners have been catalogued on their site, capturing the breadth and beauty of book arts at different snapshots in time.
MCBA Prize submissions are open from April 1 to May 31, 2024.
Fiberart International 2025 Open Call
The open call for the 2025 Fiberart International exhibition will be open through June 30, 2024.
The 25th edition of the Fiberart International will be organized and presented by Contemporary Craft in partnership with Brew House Arts and will be on view at Contemporary Craft, May 30 – August 30, 2025, and at Brew House Arts, June 20 – August 30, 2025.
This call is open to exceptionally talented artists at any stage of their career, who are located within the United States or abroad. All work must be either fiber in content or executed in a fiber technique.
The complete prospectus can be found here.
Wayne Art Center’s 2024 CraftForms Call for Entry
Wayne Art Center is seeking submissions for the 29th International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft, in the following mediums: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art, and wood. Work created utilizing CAD/CAM technologies and 3D printing tools also is eligible.
Selected works will be on display in the Davenport Gallery of Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania from December 7, 2024 through January 25, 2025. This year’s juror Jo Lauria will present $10,000 in prize awards. For more information and to see last year’s artists, visit www.craftforms.org.
Here is the direct link for CaFe.
Project Threadways Symposium
The annual Project Threadways Symposium brings together scholars, activists, makers, and thinkers to present research, share stories, and encourage dialogue about history, community, and power—all through the lens of fashion and textiles. Presentations, dinners, exhibitions, and workshops create a multi-day experience in Florence, Alabama, centered on material culture and making.
In 2024, the theme is The Future. On April 19-20, 2024, participants will gather at The Factory and virtually to imagine a better way for textile manufacturing. Presenters will consider the balance between art and business, connect heritage and healing, preserve craft and community, and look to the past to chart a more sustainable future. Presenters include:
Carla Fernández, fashion designer
Cassidy Zachary and April Calahan, Dressed: The History of Fashion podcast
Kim Kelly and Joeann Pettway West, Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy
Rebecca Burgess, Fibershed
Sherhonda Allen, Project Threadways oral historian
…and more to be announced.
Natalie Chanin of Project Threadways will also hold a Zero Waste workshop for in-person attendees.
This event offers in-person and virtual experiences. There will also be a special dinner event, with a guest chef and more details to be announced soon. If you would like to be added to the waiting list for dinner tickets, please contact think@projectthreadways.org.
More information and registration here.
Emergency Artist Relief Resources
CERF+ has an emergency relief fund for craft artists (woodworkers, ceramicists, fiber arts, glass artists, etc.). If you hear of any craft artists that have been affected by these storms, please encourage them to apply here.
For other artists, below are a few resources that we hope you find useful.
· CERF+’s Get Help page has links to relief from agencies, arts organizations, and other resources.
· Entertainment Community Fund’s Social Services and Emergency Financial Assistance – provides temporary financial assistance to those with documented financial need due to unforeseen circumstances.
· Entertainment Community Fund’s Artists Health Insurance Resource Center – Useful healthcare resources including information about how to negotiate with hospitals to lower your medical bills.
· NYFA Emergency Resources is a centralized source of information for artists in the United States and its territories.
· MusiCares – financial and addiction recovery assistance for music industry professionals
· Sweet Relief Musicians Fund – provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians and music industry workers who are struggling to make ends meet while facing physical or mental health issues, disability, or age-related problems.
· Heritage Emergency National Task Force
- Cultural institutions and arts organizations affected by the flooding can call the National Heritage Responders hotline: 202.661.8068. The National Heritage Responders, a team of trained conservators and collections care professionals administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, are available 24/7 to provide advice and guidance.
- Members of the public who have questions about saving family heirlooms can email the National Heritage Responders at NHRpublichelpline@culturalheritage.org.
- HENTF’s Save Your Family Treasures guidance is available at Save Your Family Treasures | FEMA.gov. Here you can find the downloadable FEMA fact sheets “After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures” and “Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms,” available in multiple languages.
Emerging Artists Cohort Applications due Mar 15
Emerging Artists Cohort
Applications for the 2024 Emerging Artists Cohort Open February 1!
American Craft Council’s Emerging Artists Cohort is a three-month program that cultivates the next steps for independent craft artists to advance their professional practices. The program will support 11 innovative artists early in their careers who expand craft boundaries and challenge us to new perspectives.
Through facilitated workshops, presentations, coaching, and conversations, participating artists will gain a deeper understanding of the professional skills and opportunities that will help them thrive in their chosen craft careers. Participating artists will connect with established industry leaders from various craft sectors including gallerists, curators, marketplace artists, exhibiting artists, social practice artists, designers, and more. After the three-month program is complete, all participating artists will receive an accelerator grant to help propel them to the next level of their profession, as well as receive ongoing support and peer connections through monthly meetings and an online communication platform via Slack.
APPLICATIONS OPEN FEBRUARY 1, 2024
For more information, visit https://www.craftcouncil.org/emerging-artists-program/2024
Craft Library Update: Special Collections + Back to School with Craft in America
Despite these last couple weeks of lingering heat, things are feeling very autumnal and back-to-school at the Craft Center. Our Craft in Schools team led by (me) Sam Sermeño and LAUSD school partnerships have kicked into full force as we host teaching-artist workshops, art tours, and field trips.
Lately, during field trips curious students have been asking me about our significant craft-art library, so we figure now is a good time to share some library announcements.
Special Collections
All are welcome to visit and browse our newly added Special Collections materials. Over the summer, thanks to generous art and literary patrons, we’ve integrated and catalogued four cubic feet of notable library donations. These recently added materials include books now blended into our general Dewey-Decimal organized shelves; along with a variety of niche art catalogs and unique artist paper ephemera found in our “Special Collections” labeled magazine boxes.
As always, we invite all craft enthusiasts and the wider public to enjoy our current art exhibitions and to browse our in-house library. We’re happy to collaborate with artists, curators, and fellow art nerds in general craft research and information resourcing as well. Currently, our gallery/library space (previewed below) features an interactive/browsable display of magazines, books, and manuals around fiber arts connected to the work of our Fall 2023 Influences-Influencers: California Fibers Exhibition.
The library is open to the public: Tuesday – Saturday, from noon to 6pm.
The Craft in America Center Library includes over 3000 books, exhibition catalogs, and more than 2000 periodicals dedicated to the art of craft and related topics.
For further library or Craft in Schools inquiry, please visit our Library page or contact Education Programs and Library lead sam@craftinamerica.org
cerf+ Get Ready Grants due Oct 31, 2023
Artist Get Ready Grants
CERF+’s Get Ready program provides individual craft artists grants up to $500 to conduct activities that will help safeguard their studios, protect their careers and prepare for emergencies. Artists are encouraged to use the Risk Assessment activity to generate ideas.
Priority will be given to applications from people who identify in the global majority or as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)* and folk and traditional artists.
* Language use is a key element of access, equity, and inclusion work, and can help or hinder efforts in this area. We are currently using the term “people of the global majority” and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) to describe individuals from prioritized communities. We recognize that neither term is universally used nor accepted but they are the most commonly used terms in our work. We encourage you to familiarize yourself and utilize the terms that your community members use to describe themselves.
Applications will open on October 10th and the deadline to apply is on October 31st, 2023.
Learn more at https://cerfplus.org/get-ready/get-ready-grants
The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) serves craft artists across the United States and territories by providing education programs, advocacy, network building, and emergency relief.
Decorative Arts Trust’s Dean F. Failey Grants due Oct 31, 2023
Applications for the Decorative Arts Trust’s Dean F. Failey Grants for research, exhibition, publication, and object-based conservation projects are due October 31, 2023.
The Decorative Arts Trust underwrites grants in support of noteworthy research, exhibition, publication, and object-based conservation projects through the Dean F. Failey Fund, named in honor of the Trust’s late Governor. Areas of interest include new scholarship in decorative arts, material culture, craftsmanship, and historic preservation.
Deadlines and Details
Grants for up to $15,000 are awarded on an annual basis. Organizations wishing to apply for consideration must submit a letter of inquiry by October 31 to thetrust@decorativeartstrust.org. Grant funds will be available as early as the subsequent January 1. The letter must describe the nature of the project and its impact on the field, and include CV’s for the project’s leaders as well as a budget and timeline. Preference will be given to projects that employ or are led by young professionals in the museum field. The Trust also aims to support colleagues and projects that represent the full diversity of our field.
Learn more at decorativeartstrust.org/failey-grant.
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.