Smithsonian Archives of American Art Craft Exhibition Opens November 6: About 70 Objects From 30 Artists, With the United States of Craft Podcast Debuting November 11
WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — The Smithsonian's Archives of American Art has opened Materials, Methods, and Meanings: Craft in the Archives of American Art at the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. The exhibition, which opened November 6, explores stories of craft that have shaped the American experience and is a contribution to the Smithsonian's celebration of the United States' 250th anniversary.
The show brings together approximately 70 original objects from the collections of 30 artists and craft professionals, focusing on the postwar period across ceramics, glass, fiber, metal and wood as well as an expanding range of media. On display are material samples, artists' tools, preparatory sketches, notes and writings, news clippings and photographs. Highlights come from the collections of ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu, fiber artist Lia Cook, glass artist Edris Eckhardt, woodworker George Nakashima and jewelry artist Joyce J. Scott, and the exhibition was organized by associate curator Chyna Bounds.
The Archives also launched United States of Craft, a monthly podcast hosted by Glenn Adamson and Sarah Archer that debuted on Wednesday, November 11, with a first episode exploring craft in Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, New Mexico and Hawaiʻi. The exhibition is part of Handwork 2026, presented by Craft in America. Founded in 1954, the Archives of American Art holds more than 30 million items, makes over 3.5 million digital images freely available online, and holds an oral history collection of more than 2,600 interviews.
Source: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 陶艺制作（资料图）。／Pottery making (file photo).（Ramesh Lalwani，CC BY-SA 4.0，Wikimedia Commons）
