This Month in American Craft Council History: May 2012

With nearly 70 years of organizational history, the ACC has greatly impacted the continuing evolution of the American craft movement. Here are some ACC history highlights that occurred in the month of May:

May 21, 1943

The Board of Regents, on behalf of the Education Department of New York State, grants a provisional charter for the term of five years to the American Craftsmen's Educational Council Inc., “incorporating Anne Morgan, Dorothy Draper, Mary Vail Andress, Horace H.F. Jayne, and Aileen Webb and their associates and successors, as an educational association to provide education in handicrafts and to further and stimulate public interest in and appreciation of the work of handicraftsmen, and, in furtherance of such general purposes, to establish and conduct educational workshops, to exhibit examples of handcraftsmanship, to cooperate with schools and other organizations to advance handcraftsmanship, and to publish and cause to be published periodicals, books, and pamphlets devoted to handcraftsmanship and allied subjects.”

In 1965, in an interview for House Beautiful magazine, founder Aileen Osborn Webb stated, “one of the reasons the American craftsmen have made such a tremendous advance during the past 50 years is that the craft traditions of this country were completely wiped out as a result of the impact of machines, so the modern American craftsman has started with a completely clean slate … they have not been bound to their media by an traditions.”

With such humble beginnings, the creation of an organization to celebrate American craft grew into an international movement with both national and international organizations devoted to the cause of craft, a national magazine called American Craft, and craft shows held every year across the country. Little did Webb know that the organization would still be going strong in 2012!

May, 1967

The Council received an award from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) for “its vigorous efforts in communicating creative work by American craftsmen, in helping the crafts to flourish, and in widening the acceptance of their artistic influence. In an age when the machine has dehumanized the objects and adornments of living, the American Craftsmen's Council has encouraged and stimulated interest in the capacities and pleasures of crafting by hand.” The award was presented to Aileen Osborn Webb by then Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller.

The historic roots of the American Craft Council are in New York, with the national organization's charter was granted by New York State in 1943 (see above). The Council's early efforts in their own back yard had a great influence over the recognition of artists and craftsmen from this area of the nation. One example of the ACC's commitment to craftsmen was an educational program for the New York State Department of Commerce entitled “On Marketing Handcrafts” (see PDF below) conducted by founder Aileen Osborn Webb, in which she offered business advice to artists. She outlined ways in how a craftsman “can make a successful and happy life and find for himself through his craft a life of interest, hard work, and achievement.”  Such educational programs were just one way in which the ACC contributed the American craft movement.

May 24, 1989

“Craft Today USA” opens at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, for its first stop on a two-year tour under the auspices of USIA and sponsored by Philip Morris International. This exhibition, which ran from May 24 - August 27, 1989, highlighted the best of the American craft movement of the 1980s, and traveled to more than 12 different European countries.

Curated by long-time director of the American Craft Museum, Paul Smith, this 1989 exhibition was a recreation of the “Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical” exhibit, which inaugurated the new ACM building in 1986. Smith suggested at the time, “This [exhibition] is more a curatorial statement orchestrated for a European audience than a survey.” While there was more than 4,800 square feet of space for the exhibit, Smith chose a select group of artists (157) from the earlier exhibition to showcase in Europe, emphasizing a more continental aesthetic. Artists such as Harvey Littleton, Dale Chihuly, Dan Dailey, Peter Voulkos, Sam Maloof, and Claire Zeisler were highlighted. According to a survey on the arts conducted by sponsor Philip Morris Companies, Inc. during the time of this exhibition, “more Americans participate in craft making than in any other art form.”   

Immediately after the Paris showing, the exhibit traveled to the Museum of Applied Arts in Helsinki, Finland, before moving on to Germany.

May 3-6, 1990

American Craft Enterprises (ACE) introduced a juried retail fair in Atlanta, in cooperation with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. During the fair, on May 5th, the Council also presented its 1990 awards at a reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. 

This first juried fair in Atlanta was held at the Atlanta Apparel Mart and featured 150 exhibitors. According to then president of the ACE, Carol Sedestrom-Ross, “Atlanta was selected as a host city because of its recent growth and development,” and because of its status as the “premiere city of the South.”  The Atlanta fair was held at the Apparel Mart until 1994 when it grew to more than 200 exhibitors and moved to the Georgia Dome, and it was subsequently held in March rather than May. From 2001-2006 the show was held at the Georgia World Congress Center before moving to its current venue, the Cobb Galleria Centre, in 2007. Today, the ACC Atlanta Show continues to be a tremendous success, with more than 230 exhibitors and more than 7,000 visitors in attendance. 

“This Month in ACC History" takes a look at events from the American Craft Council's 70-year history that shaped not only the organization but also the contemporary craft movement in America.