ICT NEWSCAST: Shop Native for the holiday, spotlight on crafts and more 

By ICT Staff
December 13, 2025

The ICT Newscast for Friday, December 12, 2025, covers a Norwegian Indigenous TV series,  the Institute of American Indian Arts and a poetic tribute to the Tongva. Check out the ICT Newscast on YouTube for this episode and more. 

• Shop Native: ICT’s holiday shopping guide: Ready to level up your holiday shopping? ICT’s gift guide is packed with Native brands you’ll want to add to your cart immediately.
• Sami TV series gets an Emmy nomination: A series from Norway for youth,  just broke new ground at the International Emmys. It’s the first ever nomination in the Sami language.
• Craft in America: Since 1962, the Institute of American Indian Arts has been a global center for contemporary Indigenous art. Our partners at Craft in America take us inside the campus to see the next generation of Native creators.
• Tongva Land: Land acknowledgments remind us of the original inhabitants on Turtle Island. The Tongva people call the Los Angeles area home. Pamela Peters, a Navajo artist, pays tribute.

View previous ICT broadcasts here every week for the latest news from around Indian Country.

Original article here.

‘Stronger than ever’

Adrian Gomez
For the Journal

Published December 10, 2025
Modified December 11, 2025

Before the first “action” is uttered on set — there are months of preproduction from Patricia Bischetti and her team.

As the director and executive producer of the PBS series “Craft in America,” it’s a necessary part of the job.

“We do extensive research,” Bischetti says. “My goal is to capture the honesty of the story, people explaining the process to their art and making that connection to an audience.”

According to PBS, “Craft in America” has explored the vitality, history and significance of the craft movement in the United States and its impact on our nation’s rich cultural heritage since 2007. The series captures the beauty, creativity and originality of craftsmanship, the film highlights artists and explores what they do, how they do it and why they have chosen a life of creating art.

ON TV

The PBS series “Craft in America” visits the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe in its episode “West” airing at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available on the PBS app.

The series has featured many New Mexico artists over the years and is back for another episode titled, “West,” which features the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. The episode will air at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. It will also be available to stream on the PBS app after the broadcast.

Bishetti says the episode also takes a look at cowboy arts, Hawaiian Indigenous practices and Native American handwork.

“The episode looks at how traditional craft can be revived, reworked and reinvented,” she says.

Bischetti and Carol A. Clark, “Craft in America” executive producer, chose IAIA because many of the artists featured in the series were alumni of the institution.

IAIA is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, and is the sole national center dedicated to research, training and scholarship for Native Americans. It focuses exclusively on American Indian and Alaskan Native arts and culture. It was established in 1962 and oversees the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, which houses a collection of over 7,000 contemporary Native American art pieces.

Bischetti says New Mexico has been part of “Craft in America” for 20 years through the program’s nonprofit arm.

“There’s no other place where culture is at the core,” she says. “Crafts are visible in everyday life.”

Bischetti and crew found the featured artists based on the suggestions of alumni and teachers.

“We did nine interviews in one day,” Bischetti says. “We wanted to make sure that the IAIA community was represented. We also have footage that didn’t make the segment, and those are available to view online. One of them is on the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. We wish we would have more broadcast time.”

During the handful of days of production, Bischetti was able to film IAIA’s graduation commencement in May.

“It was so challenging to capture the vastness of this school and its importance,” Bischetti says. “We were there for three days and we wanted to fully capture how the school embraces culture within its ceremony. The graduation had a powwow and none of this could have been done without the generosity of IAIA staff and students.”

Clark says viewers will be amazed and surprised by the IAIA piece.

“We were able to capture Deb Haaland’s speech to students,” Clark says. “She wished the students well and at the end of her speech, she told them to ‘be fierce.’ That’s so correct. That’s the only way things are going to change. You can be fierce in many ways. These artists are going to move the needle internationally. Europeans continue to be fascinated by the American West. It was a culture that was once tried to be eradicated. Today, it is going stronger than ever.”

New PBS documentary brings Institute of American Indian Arts to the world

By André Salkin asalkin@sfnewmexican.com
Dec 9, 2025

Financial troubles led Emmett Navakuku, 42, to depart the Institute of American Indian Arts the semester before he was set to graduate in 2010.

Over the following decade, the Hopi artist from Polacca, Ariz., said an artistic part of himself started to slip away. He endured marital tumult and the loss of his grandmother to COVID-19 — a tragedy that shook the community and left him feeling he “didn’t get the chance to say the ‘thank yous’ that I wanted to.”

So after 15 years, he returned this semester to the Santa Fe institution to bring to life a series of four painted portraits featuring his great-grandmother in black-and-white tones; his late grandmother in rich, warm sepia; his wife on a blue background and his daughters on a purple one.

“ I feel like at some point in time I forgot, kind of, about the people that I care about. … I feel like as a Hopi man, sometimes we tend to overlook the things that these women have done for us,” he said, defending his senior project Friday alongside younger seniors doing the same.

Returning to the studio environment and working on the portraits alongside other artists at the school, he said, brought back his artistic direction and sense of gratitude, along with a new desire to teach art in his community.

But soon, the school’s artistic offerings are set to reach a far broader audience.

IAIA is one of the main subjects of the latest season of “Craft in America,” a four-episode documentary series from PBS set to premiere on television screens at 10 p.m. Dec. 19 and available now on the PBS app and website.

Emmett Navakuku talks Friday about a series of portraits of family members he painted as students and faculty at IAIA gather to critique work by graduating seniors on display in the Robert Martin Academic building at IAIA.
Jim Weber/The New Mexican

‘The most important institution in the country’

The series has since 2007 produced episodes examining centuries of artistic development across the continent and its islands. IAIA, which appears in the West episode — set to screen alongside the East episode, while the North and South episodes will premiere in 2026 — is part of the roughly hourlong PBS special, screened to a small invited audience at Sky Cinemas Thursday evening.

In the episode, students are featured alongside an Idaho master saddlemaker, a Texas bootmaker and a slate of Hawaiian artisans reviving Native art forms nearly lost amid the islands’ colonial upheaval.

“For the West, IAIA was the first place we thought about,” said Patricia Bischetti, executive producer and director of the series, as she spoke at the premiere last week. “We think it’s the most important institution in the country.”

Bisa Butler ’04 Featured on Craft in America’s EAST

December 4, 2025

Montclair State University Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) alumna Bisa Butler is featured in Craft in America’s EAST episode, which is part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series on PBS. The episode is  now streaming and premieres on December 19 on PBS.

Bisa Butler is a New Jersey-born and based artist renowned for her vibrant quiltwork. Butler crafts portraits that illuminate the significant contributions and unique viewpoint of the Black community. Butler views her quilts as celebrations of Blackness and vital historical correctives, offering powerful opportunities to tell stories from a long-underrepresented perspective. Her subjects are often ordinary individuals, whose names and stories have been historically overlooked, sometimes captured in faded family portraits or by itinerant photographers. Butler’s artistic journey began with painting studies at Howard University, later evolving to incorporate fabric into her practice during her MFA at Montclair University. They include West African wax prints, kente cloth, and Dutch wax prints, each carrying rich and complex ties to African history. Her innovative approach has earned her widespread acclaim, leading to exhibitions across the United States since the early 2000s.

Original article here.

Craft in America on PBS Highlights IAIA’s Role in Shaping Contemporary Indigenous Art

Craft in America on PBS Highlights IAIA’s Role in Shaping Contemporary Indigenous Art For Immediate Release November 24, Santa Fe, New Mexico For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Jason S. Ordaz, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Institutional Communications, at jason.ordaz@iaia.edu.  This December, Craft in America begins a journey around the United States with the hour-long episodes East and West, premiering on PBS on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm (MST) (check local listings), and streaming starting November 24, 2025, on the PBS app, www.pbs.org/craftinamerica, and www.craftinamerica.org.   East and West are part of a four-episode series (North and South will premiere in winter 2026), which is part of Handwork 2026, an expansive, year-long collaboration among art and culture organizations, educators, and makers that reflects the diversity of craft over the past 250 years.   The West episode features the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—highlighting our campus, students, alum, faculty, and leadership, as well as distinguished voices such as former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna and Jemez Pueblo), internationally recognized artist, IAIA alum, and Trustee Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) ’07, ’18, President Emeritus Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation), and many others.   The film honors IAIA’s more than 60 years of creative roots and our position as the birthplace of contemporary Indigenous art.   Dr. Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo), IAIA President, said, “IAIA’s creative roots go back over 60 years, and many important Indigenous artists have found their start at our university. Seeing this legacy reflected in Craft in America’s thoughtfully presented West episode, I am deeply grateful for PBS’ and Craft in America’s commitment to telling this story.”   Craft in America is the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary series that explores the beauty, significance, and relevance of handmade objects and the artists who create them.   “It was very important for our series to include the Institute of American Indian Arts in our retrospective on the West for the Handwork 2026 project—we believe IAIA is one of the most important institutions in the country. The creativity we witnessed there is inspiring and hugely influential, and it was a great honor for us to film at IAIA during Dr. Robert Martin’s final year as president. We spent nearly two years being guided on our journey by Jason Ordaz, IAIA Chief Communications Officer, and IAIA staff, who opened doors and worked in depth with Craft in America Executive Director Carol Sauvion, and me on this important episode on the West,” said Patricia Bischetti, Executive Producer and Director.   “The Craft in America crew of six was here on campus for three days filming in various classrooms, during commencement, and through interviews with trustees, our president’s cabinet, alum, staff, faculty, and students,” said Jason S. Ordaz, IAIA Chief Communications Officer. “It was a pleasure and privilege to help shepherd this important film into being.”   Viewers who want to learn more about IAIA and its mission can go to www.iaia.edu for a wealth of information about its programs. Visitors can arrange a trip to the IAIA campus and explore contemporary Native art at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), located in the city’s historic downtown. The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—the University for Indigenous Creative Excellence—is widely regarded as the preeminent higher education institution dedicated to the study of contemporary Native American and Alaska Native arts. IAIA offers undergraduate degrees in Cinematic Arts and Technology, Computer Science, Creative Writing, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, Native American Art History, Performing Arts, and Studio Arts; graduate degrees in Creative Writing, Studio Arts, and Cultural Administration; and certificates in Broadcast Journalism, Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History. Recent partnerships, such as those with AMC, The Walt Disney Company, Nike, Ralph Lauren, the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and NBCUniversal Media, help students leave lasting footprints in the creative community. Among its many illustrious alums and former staff are two U.S. Poet Laureates: Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation) ’68, US Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022, and Faculty Emeritus Arthur Sze, the current and 2025 US Poet Laureate. IAIA serves approximately 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native students, representing nearly 100 federally recognized Tribes. IAIA is among the leading art universities in the nation and is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

American Craft Council – Television: Craft in America “East” and “West”

By Jon Spayde
November 6, 2025

Craft in America is best known for its eponymous PBS docuseries honoring craft artists, but it’s far more than a production company; among other things, it also supports a craft museum and an outreach program in public schools. Next year, it will launch an ambitious nationwide craft initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Called Handwork 2026, it’s intended to, organizers write, “showcase the importance of the handmade, both throughout our history and in contemporary life.” More than 250 craft centers, museums, and related organizations will host exhibitions and events.

Craft in America’s flagship show will offer its own coverage through four hour-long special episodes based on the cardinal points of the compass. “East” and “West,” focusing on craft artists in those regions, are set to debut December 19 on PBS, with “North” and “South” to come in December 2026.

“East” and “West” present the makers at work, demonstrating and discussing their histories, aesthetics, and processes, along with assessments from curators, partners, and colleagues. A broad view of American history is on full display.

The portrait of Italian-born master silversmith Ubaldo Vitali in “East,” for example, not only illuminates his immigrant experience but also includes a segment on Paul Revere—Vitali restored several of the patriot-silversmith’s pieces. Bisa Butler’s colorful textile works, often constructed of patterned African cloth, depict African Americans of the recent and more distant past; “East” provides context for her works by adding archival footage of the Black experience. Philadelphia-based Colette Fu, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, found a compelling way to display images in the pop-up book format. She demonstrates a massive hand-cranked volume called Noodle Mountain, in which the paper “noodles” that appear are red to represent the blood spilled in anti-Chinese riots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and yellow for the arson fires that destroyed many Chinatowns.

“West” opens with a quintessential symbol of that region: intricate leather saddles, made in Idaho by Cary Schwarz, a member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association. The cowboy boots of Graham Ebner of Austin, Texas, are just as carefully crafted, but hardly traditional: The young artist decorates them with images of Paul Bunyan or a UFO’s encounter with an armadillo. Indigenous initiatives are represented by a segment on the New Mexico–based Institute of American Indian Arts, where Native artists exchange ideas and share traditions; and by a group portrait of Native Hawaiian artists introducing sacred crafts like pandanus-leaf weaving and featherwork to a new generation of makers.

It adds up to an account of contemporary American craft that emphasizes its cultural and ethical power as well as its aesthetics and utility. As Cary Schwarz puts it, “Craftsmanship comes down to the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.”

Jon Spayde is a contributing editor to American Craft.

Catch ‘Baumannia’ During Free Community Event At New Mexico Museum Of Art And History Sept. 28

By Carol A. Clark
September 22, 2025

The New Mexico Museum of Art and New Mexico History Museum co-present “Baumannia,” a series of programs and special events in honor of the life and legacy of artist Gustave Baumann on 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 at their Santa Fe Plaza campuses.

Baumannia Community Day, hosted at both museums, will include hands-on activities, a marionette presentation, a variety of mini lectures and presentations, a Craft in America television episode screening, block printing activities, tours of Gustave Baumann’s re-created studio at the History Museum’s Palace Press, and other family-friendly activities. Visit nmculture.org/gustave-baumann for a full schedule of events.

Baumannia, is inspired by the Museum of Art’s retrospective exhibition, “Gustave Baumann: The Artist’s Environment,” and hosted in collaboration with the History Museum. The History Museum holds a robust digitized collection of photos, documents, and audio from the Ann Baumann Trust tied to the life and work of Gustave Baumann. The event shares this important art and history collection that is part of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Original article here.

Craft in America Premieres New Season with Episodes: SCIENCE & COLLECTORS

[Los Angeles] – SCIENCE and COLLECTORS premiere on PBS December 27 at 9pm and 10pm, respectively (check local listings).

Streaming starts November 12th on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org.

The episodes comprise the newest season of Craft in America. The Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary series has produced 16 seasons since 2007, discovering the beauty, significance and relevance of handmade objects and the artists who make bring them to life.

“Craft in America…[has a] knack for telling big stories… about the formation of culture, the purpose of creativity, the idea that the pursuits of beauty and utility are foundational to humanity.” – New York Times

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SCIENCE

SCIENCE investigates the unexpected intersection between art and the sciences, spanning technology, engineering, biology, math, and the climate emergency. Nature, space, algorithms, and more serve as inspiration for artists connecting their work to the world around them, from the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico to the computer science labs of MIT to NASA and the International Space Station. The featured artists are Erik & Martin Demaine, Joan Takayama-Ogawa, Chris Maynard, John Luebtow, Joseph & Sergio Youngblood Lugo and Karen Nyberg.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

Erik & Martin Demaine (Cambridge, MA)
We begin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Erik and Martin Demaine combine math with art. Erik is an MIT professor of computer science and the father-son team takes inspiration from their research to create unique curved-crease origami sculptures from folded paper.

Joan Takayama-Ogawa (Los Angeles, CA)
We find ceramic artist Joan Takayama-Ogawa at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California. Joan is a passionate artist and educator who uses her work in clay to respond to the ongoing climate emergency.

Chris Maynard (Olympia, WA)
We travel to Olympia, Washington, to meet Chris Maynard, who creates intricate art entirely from bird feathers. Inspired by his love of the natural world and his background as a biologist, Chris hopes to give people a new perspective on nature through his art.

John Luebtow (Los Angeles, CA)
Back in Los Angeles, we meet John Luebtow, a glass sculptor and teacher. He introduces us to the founder of the modern kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel, and how Froebel’s geometric “gifts” inspired John and generations of other artists.

Joseph & Sergio Youngblood Lugo (Santa Clara Pueblo, NM)
The Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico has been home to a long tradition of Native potters, including brothers Joseph and Sergio Youngblood Lugo. Joseph and Sergio demonstrate the ancestral firing technique that produces their unique polished pottery.

Karen Nyberg (Salt Lake City, UT)
We end the episode with retired NASA astronaut and quilter Karen Nyberg. Karen brought quilting to the International Space Station and inspired the international quilting challenge that connected makers from all over the world. Karen continues to create art inspired by space and science.

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COLLECTORS

COLLECTORS reveals the essential role that craft appreciators play in the community. It examines how collectors affirm and inspire the artists they support and how the art enriches the lives of the collectors in turn. The episode highlights collections from Chicano art to teapots to wooden spoons, looking at what drives collectors and how their support furthers artists at all stages of their careers. The featured artists and institutions are Cynthia Lockhart, Carolyn Mazloomi, Sara Vance Waddell, American Craft Council, Peter Shire, Sonny & Gloria Kamm, Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff & Jeffrey Bernstein, Norm Sartorius, Cheech Marin, Yolanda González, Francisco Palomares, Frank Romero and Jaime “Germs” Zacarias.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

Carolyn Mazloomi, Cynthia Lockhart and Sara Vance Waddell (Cincinnati, OH)
COLLECTORS opens in Cincinnati, Ohio, with Carolyn Mazloomi, an artist, collector and curator and the founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN). We meet Cynthia Lockhart, a quilt artist who has found community with the WCQN, and Sara Vance Waddell, a collector of women’s art, and learn how the three women have developed a friendship through collecting that has provided inspiration and encouragement in their lives.

American Craft Council (Baltimore, MD)
In Baltimore, Maryland, we meet several dynamic young collectors and the artists they support at the American Craft Council’s annual show, American Craft Made Baltimore. This celebration of craft provides an opportunity for artists and collectors to meet in person and connect over the art that brings them together.

Sonny and Gloria Kamm and Peter Shire (Los Angeles, CA)
We meet Sonny and Gloria Kamm and their vast collection of teapots in Los Angeles, California. They lead us to artist Peter Shire and discover the joy he finds in creating unique objects, from teapots to mugs to furniture.

Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein, and Norm Sartorius (Washington, D.C., and Parkersburg, WV)
In Washington, D.C., we visit the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and meet three collectors who have donated work to the museum, Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein. They explain why sharing their collections with the public is an essential part of their connection with artists and introduce us to Norm Sartorius, a wood artist who makes fascinating and original spoons.

Cheech Marin, Yolanda González, Francisco Palomares, Frank Romero and Jaime “Germs” Zacarias (Riverside, CA)
Returning to California, comedian and collector Cheech Marin takes us to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum. Cheech has made a lifelong project of collecting and encouraging Chicano artists and found a home for his collection at the Riverside Art Museum. Yolanda González, Francisco Palomares, Frank Romero and Jaime “Germs” Zacarias are among the featured artists we meet from his collection.

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MINIATURES Screening at the Museum of International Folk Art on December 9th

December 9th 2pm to 4pm
706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505

Join the screening of MINIATURES and a discussion with individuals interviewed in the episode: Laura Addison, Museum of International Folk Art; Stuart Ashman, Artes de Cuba Gallery; Nadia Hamid, International Folk Art Market; Thomas Leech, retired, New Mexico History Museum; and Maureen Russell, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Patricia Bischetti, Craft in America’s Executive Producer and Director, will facilitate the panel discussion.

New Mexico artists and organizations figure prominently in MINIATURES, which includes segments on Alexander Girard’s spectacular invented world housed in the Museum of International Folk Art’s Girard Wing; beloved New Mexico artist Gustave Baumann’s marionettes from the collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art; and International Folk Art Market artists who work at a diminutive scale, including Cuban artist Leandro Gómez Quintero, who creates small-scale, painstakingly detailed re-creations of vehicles using found materials.

More information here.

Watch the MINIATURES preview here.

Austin Creative Reuse to Screen PLAY Episode

Join Austin Creative Reuse for an exclusive evening with Austin-based reuse artist, Calder Kamin. They will be screening one of Craft in America’s newest episodes, PLAY. It features Calder and follows the creation of her installation, “Once Upon a Time in the Future,” which is currently on display at ACR. Meet Calder, make a unicorn brooch from reuse materials and see the episode before it airs for the public.

This is a free event with donations gratefully accepted. Suggested donation: $5
All ages welcome!
This is an outdoor event. Please bring a lawn chair and dress for the weather. Rain date: Sunday, November 19, 2023

This project has been financed in whole or in part by the City of Austin’s Elevate Grant Program.

More information here.