zoom
Left: More than two
dozen people with
diverse ties to the world
of craft gathered at
Penland to discuss the
future of the field.
Right: The ACC’s
executive director
Chris Amundsen was
among the participants
in the group’s conversa-
tions on the overarching
question: Why
craft now?
M em ber New s
Namita Wiggcrs, curator at the
Museum of Contemporary Craft
and ACC trustee, in discussion with
Che Rhodes, glass artist and professor
at the University of Louisville.
ACC Hits the Road
Executive director Chris Amundsen is lead-
ing listening sessions with A CC members
and other craft enthusiasts in six cities -
Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minneapolis/
St. Paul, Houston, San Francisco, and Port-
land, Oregon - to kick off the Council’s
strategic planning process. Amundsen will
use the sessions to deepen the Council’s
understanding of opportunities and chal-
lenges in the craft field and to shape an all-
member survey, to be distributed in the first
few months of 2011. The goal is to produce a
draft of a new, dynamic strategic plan to
guide the Council’s programs by fall 2011.
To ensure rich conversation, the ses-
sions will be kept small. Members in host
cities will receive invitations, along with
notice of the questions that will be
discussed.
Baltimore and Atlanta Shows
W e’re in the heart of ACC show season.
From February 24 - 27, more than 700 artists
will present their work to 25,000 craft lov-
ers at the American Craft Council Show in
Baltimore - the largest juried indoor craft
show in the nation. A two-day wholesale
show February 22 - 23 will precede the retail
show; both will be held at the Baltimore
Convention Center. For details visit
craftcouncil.org/baltimore.
The American Craft Council Atlanta
show, like the show in Baltimore, will in-
clude special product categories such as
Handmade Under $100, Green Craft, Lawn
& Garden, and AltCraft - as well as reduced
admission Friday evening. The Atlanta
show will take place March 11 -13 at the
Cobb Galleria Centre. Craft enthusiasts
are invited to shop ahead of the crowds and
meet artists at an evening preview party
Thursday, March 10, to jointly benefit the
Museum of Design Atlanta and the Ameri-
can Craft Council. For more information,
visit craftcouncil.org/atlanta.
Convening at Penland
For three days in late October, more than
two dozen craft artists, gallerists, writers,
bloggers, curators, craft advocates, retail-
ers, and educators gathered at the Penland
School of Crafts for the American Craft
Council’s second Convening, a follow-up
to the Convening in 2009, preceding the
A CC’s “Creating a New Craft Culture”
conference in Minneapolis. Participants at
the 2010 event, hosted in partnership with
Penland School of Crafts and the Center for
Craft, Creativity & Design, addressed an
overarching question: Why craft now?
Specific discussions included “Our Digi-
tal Lives” and “Social and Environmental
Responsibility.” Join the discussion at
http://bit.ly/ddYZRt.
-P A M E L A DIAM OND
Pamela Diamond is director of marketing and
communications for the American Craft Council.
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american craft fcb/m arn
Bottom right photo: Katie A. Lee / Other photos (2): Robin Dreyer
