The Executive Director's Cut: Winter 2012

Thank you for your continued interest and support of the American Craft Council. 2011 has been a pivotal year. We worked diligently to deliver consistent, high quality programming as we settled into our offices in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and hired a new staff. We began to revitalize the Council's programs, set new goals, and plan for the future. I want to update you on some highlights of our accomplishments and tell you about our exciting new work.

We are very proud of our many achievements this past year, including:

• ACC membership - ACC membership increased by 11%! This is a tremendous upsurge after several years of declining interest.

• ACC craft shows - Total attendance and artist sales at our four retail shows in Baltimore, Atlanta, St. Paul, and San Francisco grew for the second straight year. A creative outreach campaign and broadened media coverage helped draw attention to the fabulous work of the artists participating in the shows.

• American Craft magazine - Our revitalized approach, with stories that connect readers to great artists and their work, has drawn rave reviews from across the country. Members are telling us they are reading the magazine cover to cover and enjoying the high quality images. While it remains a challenging economy, advertisers are responding with growing interest in our increased membership and confidence in the quality of our publication.

• GOLD exhibit at SOFA Chicago - ACC established a major presence with our exhibition, "GOLD: American Craft Council Gold Medalists 1994-2011." Curated by Council trustee Michael Monroe, the presentation was visually stunning and drew nonstop visitors of all ages. It was a testament to the organization's past, present and future. We participated in SOFA's lecture series with a discussion between gold medalist Bill Daley and art historian and editor Janet Koplos, who wrote an accompanying catalog essay. I invite you to see the highlight video. It's not to be missed!

We have initiated changes to be implemented in 2012 to address issues impacting the quality of our craft shows and ACC members' experiences with the Council:

• We have introduced an invitational process to select a portion of our show artists, which will bring new faces and new work to attendees.

• We have planned reinvigorated educational programming and networking events at each show.

• We are re-launching our website in February to address the needs of our users and improve their online interactions. We will continue to add functionality to the site as we move forward.

Looking toward the future, ACC trustees have finalized a new strategic plan detailing our longer-term objectives. This is an exciting step forward for the organization, and all of us at the Council are excited about the opportunities to provide greater value to the craft field. We developed our new plans based on my conversations with the craft community at listening sessions held in eight cities across the country, as well as on almost 5,000 responses to our electronic survey of members and other constituents. The ideas generated in these discussions were critical as we outlined our future work.

Here are the goals and focus areas we will strive for that were developed during our strategic planning process:

• We will advocate for and promote craft as an important cultural resource. We will identify and promote the brand of craft, and we will expand the audience that supports and understands its value.

• We will strengthen economic opportunities within the craft field, support the professional development of established and emerging makers, and foster marketplace connections.

• We will provide thought leadership and cultivate critical thinking about contemporary craft, both on our own and through partnerships and collaborations with other organizations. We will identify, recognize and promote the work of exemplary craft practitioners.

We have accomplished a lot this year and look forward to working with you and other members of the craft community as we continue to build support and increased interest in American craft.

Some of this work is new for the Council, and other work is focused on revitalizing and expanding current programming. We have ambitious plans, and because we are a nonprofit we will need to generate resources in order to invest in these areas. We will keep you apprised of our progress as we develop and implement these plans.

Our success in achieving progress on each of these goals will have a significant impact on the craft community. I hope that you will continue to support the work of the Council as we champion craft!

Thank you for all that you do for the Council and best wishes for 2012.