Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026
Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 will be a year-long, nationwide celebration to spotlight the importance of original handcrafted work and to honor the diversity of makers and making, past and present. A project of Craft in America, Handwork 2026 will include a significant online presence and focus its activities on several core initiatives, including:
- National Grassroots Campaign: A campaign in partnership with local, state and national organizations, with a strong social media component that underscores the importance of handwork to both the history and contemporary culture of America in our Semiquincentennial year. A national, 250th Anniversary event to advance the crafts and local creative economies. A grassroots initiative that will also work in the digital realm to broaden access to craft programs and happenings nationwide.
- Core Exhibition: A diverse and inclusive survey, presenting the finest work being done in all craft media and materials, augmented by regional exhibitions that will become destination events showcased through the Handwork 2026 website.
- Book: Presenting the extraordinary range of craft’s presence in our nation, the book will serve as a catalog for the Core Exhibition. It will also showcase craft history, artists, materials and processes, focusing on under-told and overlooked craft stories, with essays by leading craft experts.
- Three-Part Documentary Film Series: produced by Peabody-Award winning Craft in America, which airs nationwide on PBS and presents a rich exploration of craft and craft makers through the spectrum of traditional, studio, ethnic and contemporary practices, including new technologies.
- Education: Interdisciplinary learning initiatives at all levels of the education system, with a special focus on grades K–12, taking a wide look at the history, traditions and impact of craft in the United States, from Indigenous origins until today. Education guides will include hands-on craft activities and will be available online.
Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, an idea envisioned by a group of dedicated craft professionals and artists, takes its inspiration from a similar project, Year of American Craft 1993, that benefitted millions of artists, makers and appreciators. Much has changed in America since 1993, but the practice of making things by hand endures.
Craft makes us unique and unites us. From home-based, to workshop-based, to culture-based, to studio- based practices, craft brings people of all backgrounds and beliefs together. Nationwide programs will honor American makers, then and now, pointing the way to a robust future for the crafts and the country.
Please join us in honoring the handmade during our Semiquincentennial year by contacting us at handwork2026@craftinamerica.org.