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Cowgirl Congress – America250
America 250
April 2, 2026
As America marks its 250th birthday, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, together with Idaho women folk and traditional artists from all around the state, is proud to celebrate the makers whose hands, heritage, and artistry help shape the culture of the American West.
From June 11–21, 2026, women Western traditional and fine artists from across Idaho will gather in Ketchum for a dynamic, multi-day event filled with workshops, connection, and community. Presented in partnership with the Sun Valley Museum of Art and Handwork 2026, this celebration will spotlight the exceptional craftswomanship that has long defined life in the Mountain West—honoring the creators who keep these traditions vibrant and alive.
True to Western spirit, these artists are opening their corral to the community through a public exhibition, hands-on learning, and conversations that explore their deep ties to the land they call home. Event details are still coming together, and Idahoans are invited to stay tuned as the schedule continues to take shape. This gathering promises an inspiring tribute to the women whose grit, grace, and artistry continue to build, beautify, and enrich our nation.
For information, contact State Folklorist Steven Hatcher at steven.hatcher@arts.idaho.gov
Calendar Pick: ‘Surface Tension’ Opening Reception
Flagpole: The Color Bearer of Athens, Georgia
By Mary Beth Bryan
April 1, 2026
As part of Craft in America’s nationwide initiative to honor the handmade, Lyndon House Arts Center has curated “Surface Tension,” featuring works that navigate the human body by Erika Diamond and Chelsea Lillo. Diamond is a textile artist, curator and educator who created a series of safety vests collectively called “Imminent Peril – Queer Collection” in response to the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL. The vests are made from Kevlar and tailored to reflect the personalities and styles of specific members of the queer community, exploring who is valued in American society and who holds the privilege of being both seen and protected. Diamond explores ideas of vulnerability and self preservation in their other series on display called “Eggshell Miniquilts and Eggshell Garments.” Lillo, a psychology graduate, reflects the medical realm in her works. She sculpts ocular, facial and somatic prostheses, meticulously matching each clients’ skin tone, eye color and bone structure so that they can re-enter their communities with a sense of confidence and belonging.
WHAT: “Surface Tension” Opening Reception
WHEN: Thursday, Apr. 2, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Lyndon House Arts Center
HOW MUCH: FREE!
Indie Craft Parade
The Post and Courier Greenville
March 31, 2026
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Indie Craft Parade, Greenville’s celebration of all things handmade is now accepting artist applications for their seventeenth annual festival. This juried show recognizes excellence in handcrafted art, and will feature the work of over 100 artists this September at the historic Judson Mill District. The 2026 event will take place September 11-13.
Applications are open one month earlier this year and can be submitted online through midnight on April 20. All crafters, artisans, designers, and makers are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. Entry fee information and guidelines are available at www.indiecraftparade.com.
Indie Craft Parade was created for Greenville, South Carolina in 2010 to support and promote independent artists, educate the community about the modern craft movement, and encourage a renewed appreciation for quality handmade goods. Each year, the festival highlights and contributes to the artistic and innovative local economy of Greenville, SC. The 2026 event is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America to honor handmade during America’s Semiquincentennial
Getty Marrow Digital Communications Paid Internship 2026
CRAFT IN AMERICA DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTERNSHIP
The Craft in America Digital Communications intern will provide support and assist in various aspects of organizational digital media content and management. The intern will be involved in researching and writing content to support the organization’s exhibitions, programming, website, PBS documentary series, and promotion. The intern will work on the Center exhibitions and programming. In addition, the intern will catalog and caption our digital video library as well as catalog our physical library.
The intern will participate in outreach with artists, outside organizations, collectors, local businesses, student groups, and art schools. The intern will be trained to use our website and Constant Contact and will have structured time to familiarize with Craft in America’s resources, artist database, and style guide. Familiarity and knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Google Suite is a plus.
This internship is on-site at the Craft in America Center two days a week and remote for three days a week for a total of 40 hours a week. Intern must be available for 10 consecutive weeks between:
- June 1 – August 7 or
- June 8 – August 14 or
- June 15 – August 21, 2026
ELIGIBILITY
While these internships are intended for students from backgrounds underrepresented in museums and visual arts professions, Getty encourages eligible candidates from all backgrounds to apply for consideration. Getty is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected trait under the law. Candidates are sought from all areas of undergraduate study at any higher education institution—community college, trade school, and public and private university—and are not required to have demonstrated a previous commitment to the visual arts. Candidates will have the opportunity to demonstrate their interest in museums and visual arts professionals and how they might add diverse and underrepresented perspectives, which can include—among other things—socio-economic status, cultural background, physical or other disability, geographical origin, and/or any other life experiences.
Student must:
- Be currently enrolled as a full-time undergraduate in either a bachelor’s degree program or an associate’s degree program. Students must have completed at least one semester or two quarters of college by June. Students who graduated the semester or quarter immediately before the internship begins are also eligible. (Students who are enrolled in a second BA or BS program are not eligible.)
- Attend college in or be a permanent resident of LA County; and
- Be a United States citizen or permanent resident (non-citizen authorized to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis; also known as a “green card” holder). Students with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status valid through the internship period are also eligible.
Note: Students can participate in the program multiple times but must intern at a different organization each summer.
TO APPLY: Submit your résumé, two letters of recommendation or contact information (phone/email) for two references (teacher, professor, former employer, etc.), and a cover letter describing how you meet the requirements for the position.
Email your submissions to apply@craftinamerica.org with the subject heading “Internship.” APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, April 17, 2026.
School of Art Offers Free Tickets for U of A Campus to See America 250: Common Threads Exhibition at Crystal Bridges
March 30, 2026
The School of Art at the U of A, housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is partnering with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to offer all U of A faculty, staff and students free admission to the exhibition America 250: Common Threads.
Campus members can receive up to two free tickets by using the promotional code HOGS when reserving tickets through the museum’s website. The promotion is valid now until June 1, 2026, but tickets may be reserved for any date during the exhibition’s run, which is happening until July 27, 2026. A U of A email address must be used to access the offer. Individuals should enter the promotional code before checking out. Tickets can be reserved here.
America 250: Common Threads commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence while reflecting on 250 years of American art and civic participation. Through paintings, textiles, historic documents, photographs and quilts, the exhibition explores how artists and makers have documented and shaped the evolving story of the United States.
Visitors can look forward to experiencing how people have celebrated national and personal moments in history, from a display of hundreds of 20th-century patriotic snapshots to souvenirs collected from America’s Centennial in 1876. When the exhibition is open to the public, visitors can also observe live quilting in the galleries as local quilters and Northwest Arkansas quilting guilds stitch together squares created by K-12 students across Arkansas using an art kit designed by artist Basil Kincaid.
This promotional offer is the second collaboration of its kind between the museum and the School of Art. A similar promotion launched last semester for the exhibition Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture offered free admission to the campus community and brought a strong turnout of U of A faculty, staff and students to the museum.
The School of Art is also continuing to cover transportation costs to and from Crystal Bridges and the Momentary. The shuttle program offers an accessible way for campus members to visit world-class museums. Interested groups can request for travel support through the School of Art’s request form. Support is provided on a first-come, first-served basis, while resources are available.
“The School of Art’s partnership with Crystal Bridges is rooted in our mutual commitment to access to the arts,” said Rachel Debuque, director of the School of Art. “Offering free tickets to America 250: Common Threads, including transportation funding for campus members, extends learning beyond the classroom and empowers U of A faculty, staff and students to make new connections between art and history.” Debuque encourages students, faculty and staff to take advantage of the free tickets, and for instructors to consider coordinating a visit for any classes that are studying related subjects.
America 250: Common Threads is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in partnership with the American Folk Art Museum and is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, presented by Craft in America. Tickets are available here and can be reserved for free with a U of A email address and the code HOGS. More information about the exhibition is available on the Crystal Bridges website. Please reach out to Crystal Bridges at 479-418-5700 with questions or issues reserving tickets online.
Common Threads in Arkansas
“America 250: Common Threads” weaves together textiles, art, and artifacts to tell the story of a nation.
By SIERRA HOLT
March 26, 2026
As much as apple pies and baseball are American traditions, so too are textiles. In fact, one of the most famous symbols of American identity is a piece of fabric: the American flag. Through the talented hand and creative mind of its original maker, Betsy Ross, colony unity was woven together into a piece of art.
Many artistic and decorative objects made in the United States, both old and new, hold this ability. A statue of a famous statesman, a piece of paper with decorative calligraphy, and even the squares of a quilt made centuries ago can evoke a sense of time and place—whether good, bad, or in-between—from America’s past.
Such is the basis of the upcoming exhibition, America 250: Common Threads. Opening on March 20 and continuing until July 27 at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, the show weaves a look back at American history with objects spanning the United States, time, and national and personal narratives. The “America 250” in the show’s title refers to America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, also known as a semiquincentennial, while “Common Threads” reflects on how American art has influenced civic participation and developed community relationships.
As also hinted by the exhibit’s name, textiles are well represented in the show and include pieces on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. “The American Folk Art Museum has been an incredible partner in developing this semiquincentennial exhibition. Self-taught artists and communal artmaking practices are foundational to the history of the United States,” explains Crystal Bridges Museum’s assistant curator of American art, Larissa Randall. “By lending over 30 signature objects from their collection, the American Folk Art Museum empowers us to tell broader and more complex stories about American art over the past 250 years.”
Among the selections from the American Folk Art Museum is a circa 1885–1920 silk and satin quilt. Shining in a bright jewel-tone purple, the quilt’s color is a product of the 1856 invention of synthetic aniline dyes, alongside the entry of silk as a domestic industry in America in the mid-1800s. To add to the grandeur of the piece, the maker of the quilt—an unidentified member of the McAllister family in New Hampshire—also added atop the silk fabric face is a second trend of the era: nine crazy quilt star cutouts.
Another quilt from the American Folk Art Museum is one that many visitors may recognize even before they step into the show, as it serves as the image for the exhibit’s advertising. It was made by Emmaus, Pennsylvania, quiltmaker Gertrude Knappenberger to commemorate the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Upon seeing the piece, viewers will spot pastel-colored appliqué designs of birds, flowers, stars, and heart emblems placed in a diamond pattern on a white cotton quilt top. Within this pattern are the numbers “1876” placed in the center, and the text “Centennial” and “G. Knappenberger” quilted vertically on the left and right sides.
Textile-focused content will continue with live quilting sessions by local quilters and guilds within the exhibit. They will piece together squares made by Arkansas schoolchildren and textile artist Basil Kincaid.
But not all items displayed in America 250 are made from fabric. “Visitors will see hundreds of objects made between 1776–2026. The exhibition includes a room of George Washington portraits, collectables, and ephemera, as well as entire sections dedicated to national symbols like flags, eagles, and liberty figures,” explains Randall. “Visitors will also see new work by contemporary American artists Sheryl Oring, Drew Cameron, and Titus Kaphar.”
One of the most well-known items on display is a marble original bust of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi, made in 1794. The artwork is noted for its likeness of the former U.S. secretary of the treasury, while also appearing—through Ceracchi’s signature neoclassical style—as what Tyson Scholar Amy Torbert described in a 2016 Crystal Bridges Museum blog post as a “Roman stateman with a classical profile and strong nose” that depicts “the democratic ideals of the new American republic, whose leaders consciously chose to associate their nation with the ancient democracies of Greece and the republican values of Rome.” The bust has become a well-known depiction of Hamilton and has served as a model for numerous likenesses, including the first U.S. postal stamp in his honor and the head of the granite statue by Carl Conrads in Central Park.
The bust was originally part of the Ceracchi’s Great Men of America series, which included likenesses of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and John Adams. It was given to Hamilton by the artist, who later demanded payment for his time and materials from his subject. Hamilton reluctantly paid the sum, and it was kept in the family until it was donated to the then-Astor Library in 1896 and later purchased by the Crystal Bridges Museum in 2025.
This show is the result of a partnership between the Crystal Bridges Museum and the year-long nationwide initiative Handwork 2026, organized by the Craft in America team. This multi-platform collaboration between museum institutions, arts-related organizations, educators, and makers highlights American handmade craft in honor of the nation’s semiquincentennial anniversary. Efforts from this initiative include multiple exhibitions such as America 250, public events, educational programming, a four-episode feature on PBS’s Craft in America, and a publication.
More information about America 250: Common Threads is at crystalbridges.org, and Handwork 2026 at handwork2026.org. For more antique events and news related to America’s 250th, check out Kovels Antique Trader’s monthly column, “Celebrating 250 Years of American Antiques,” in every 2026 issue. Readers can also find special reporting here on the website.
Original article here.
Smithsonian Craft Show Opens April 23: Juried Fine Craft Show Celebrates American Artistry
March 25, 2026
The 44th annual Smithsonian Craft Show will take place April 22–26 featuring the work of recognized masters and outstanding innovators of American craft. A panel of expert jurors has selected 120 American artists representing all facets of contemporary craft and design, including basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed-media, paper, wearable art and wood. The works will be on display and for sale. Serious collectors and casual shoppers will find one-of-a-kind pieces at a wide range of prices.
The show will be held at the National Building Museum, located at 401 F St. N.W. in Washington, D.C. Admission is $25, and group sales of 10 or more are $20 each, both of which can be purchased in advance or online.
The show’s Preview Night Benefit April 22 offers an early opportunity to view and purchase crafts while enjoying cocktails and dinner. Tickets and more information are available on the craft show website.
The 2026 honorary chair is Carol Sauvion, the former executive director of Craft in America, and the guiding force behind Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide initiative to showcase 250 years of American craft.
A highlight of the Preview Night Benefit will be the presentation of the Smithsonian Visionary Award to Wayne Higby for his significant achievements in sculptural art and design. Ceramic artist Cristina Córdova will receive the Delphi Award from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee for her exceptional mid-career artistry and promise.
The Smithsonian Women’s Committee produces this show to celebrate the finest in American contemporary craft and design. All proceeds go back to the Smithsonian through grants to multiple museums, research centers and the Zoo. To date, the organization has awarded more than $15 million to the Institution for projects that support innovative education and enhance knowledge, research and outreach in areas of culture, arts, mysteries of the universe, biodiversity and the American experience.
About the Smithsonian Women’s Committee
The Smithsonian Women’s Committee is an all-volunteer organization of 180 members that raises funds through its annual Smithsonian Craft Show and Craft2Wear Show to fund its grants and endowment programs to support the initiatives of the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo and numerous education, research and conservation centers in the Washington, D.C., area and around the world.
Craft Forms 2026: Call For Entry
Call for Entry through September 9, 2026
Entry fee: $50
Wayne Art Center seeks submissions for the 31st International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft, in the following mediums: basketry, ceramics, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art, and wood. Works created utilizing CAD/CAM technologies and 3D printing tools are also eligible.
Enter Now
Exhibition & Sale: December 5, 2026 – January 23, 2027
Awards: $12,000 in prizes
Juror: Dr. Robert K. Liu and Patrick Benesh-Liu
413 Maplewood Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087
www.craftforms.org
610-688-3553
Join a historic celebration of American craft during Handwork Week at BARN
By BARN
March 22, 2026
Artists’ talks, a live bronze pour, poetry and tours welcome the public to Bainbridge Island’s contribution to a nationwide craft celebration:
Join artists, makers, and neighbors for a week of free public events at Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN), April 26 through May 1, as Bainbridge Island takes part in one of the most ambitious celebrations of American craft in a generation.
Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 is a year-long collaboration that brings together more than 280 museums, galleries and craft organizations across all 50 states to celebrate the diversity of the crafts that define America. The heart of BARN’s contribution is Handwork Week, a series of intensive, multi-day workshops drawing students from across the country. Most workshops are fully enrolled, but evening events are free and open to all.
Full article here.
Patrons preview America 250: Common Threads
By Carin Schoppmeyer
March 21, 2026
Sponsors of “America 250: Common Threads” got a first look at the new exhibition March 12 during a curator-led preview at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. A Director’s Reception for museum members followed the tour.
“As we look ahead to the nation’s 250th anniversary, this exhibition invites us to reflect on how art shapes our understanding of America,” executive director Rod Bigelow told gathered guests.
An ambitious community project is also part of the show.
The museum distributed 30,000 quilt kits to Arkansas K-12 students, asking them to create fabric squares reflecting themes of identity and independence. During the exhibition, more than 150 volunteers from Arkansas quilting guilds will serve as quilters-in-residence, stitching the student squares together in the gallery.
Assistant Curator of American Art Larissa Randall and Ella Nowicki, Windgate curatorial fellow, guided patrons through the exhibition, which includes quilts, paintings, photographs, everyday objects and historic documents.
Among them are a circa 1820 stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” and writings by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.
The tour began in the George Washington gallery.
Randall noted that “Washington mania” dates to 1799, when artists and everyday Americans mourned the death of the first president and created objects and images to commemorate him.
Randall said the exhibition explores how artists across centuries have interpreted familiar American symbols.
“American artists continue to build on centuries of visual culture,” she said. “They’ve embraced familiar emblems, challenged them and even rewritten them.”
“Our symbols are constantly evolving, much like the nation itself,” she added.
The exhibition also looks at how art reflects public conversation and identity through sections including “Moments of History”, “National Symbols”, “Future Generations”, “America: One Century” and “Democracy and Dialogue.”
“I hope this exhibition prompts you to consider how intertwined visual literacy and political literacy are in this nation,” Randall told guests.
“America 250: Common Threads” opened to the public March 14 with events including a live papermaking demonstration by Drew Cameron, participatory artwork with Sheryl Oring, performances by TheatreSquared artists-in-residence and music by the University of Arkansas Wind Ensemble.
The exhibition was organized in partnership with the American Folk Art Museum and is part of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, presented by Craft in America.
Sponsors include Stout Executive Search, Christie’s, The Coca-Cola Company, UHP, Becky and Bob Alexander, Shari and Lamar Steiger Family, Harrison and Rhonda French Family, Valorie and Randy Lawson/Lawco Energy Group, Frederick and Shelby Gans, Avis Bailey, Beverly and Charles Lee and Marybeth and Micky Mayfield.
Original article here.