The First ACC Atlanta Craft Show

Back in 1990, the American Craft Council was at the height of its craft show craze, hosting fairs in New York, Rhinebeck, San Francisco, Baltimore, West Springfield, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. That same year, the ACC even launched a new show in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Atlanta Apparel Mart on Spring Street. This was the first ACC craft show to be held in the Southeast region of the United States. According to Carol Sedestrom Ross, who at the time was the President of American Craft Enterprises, a subsidiary of the Council that managed its craft fairs, "Atlanta was selected as a host city because of its recent growth and development, making it the premiere city of the South. With a rich traditional heritage and contemporary enthusiastic support of the arts and the artist, Atlanta was the perfect choice."

And Ross was right. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the expansion of Hartsfield International Airport, the growth of foreign company presence, and the arrival of new ethnic and cultural groups throughout the 1980s led to the promotion of Atlanta by political and civic boosters as the "world's next great city." During this time, some of the city's highest-profile businesses continued to expand, including Coca-Cola, Cable News Network (CNN), and United Parcel Service (UPS), attracting additional labor, conventions, and visitors from across the United States. All of these activities brought financial boom to the economy which, in turn, led to increasing growth of and support for the arts.

As part of the launch of the ACC Atlanta Craft Fair in 1990, a special show guide supplement was published in Southern Homes magazine. Inaugural activities included a Preview Gala sponsored by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, tours of contemporary American craft collections in Atlanta, and lectures by members of the ACC College of Fellows, including Marvin Lipofsky and Jack Lenor Larsen. With 175 artists from acround the country exhibiting and more than 15,000 visitors in attendance, the first show was a smashing success. 

This weekend, March 15-17th, 240+ artists will take part in the 24th annual ACC Atlanta Craft Show, several of whom were present at the first event in 1990, including Lee Marraccini (jewelry), John Fleming (sculptural leather), Gabriel Ofiesh (jewelry), and Camille Benjamin (fiber).      

Throwback Thursday is a weekly series highlighting visuals from the American Craft Council Library's Digital Collections Database. Check back on Thursdays for more.