This Month in American Craft Council History: October 2012

Each month we take an expedition through the ACC archives to uncover interesting, little known, yet culturally significant, events that took place over the course of the organization’s 70-year history. Here are some ACC history highlights that occurred in the month of October:

October 16, 1953

“Designer Craftsmen U.S.A. 1953,” a national exhibition initiated by the American Craftsmen's Educational Council (today the American Craft Council) with backing from the Brooklyn Museum, NY, and 10 cooperating museums, was shown at the Brooklyn Museum (through January 4, 1954). From a total of nearly 3,000 submissions received by regional juries, the final jury selected 243 pieces by 203 craftsmen representing, in the opinion of the jury (David Campbell, William Woolfenden, Hugh Lawson and John Van Koert), “the highest quality to be found in American work at this time.” Grant awards of $500 each went to Lilly E. Hoffman (handwoven textile), George Wells (hooked rug), Loren Manbeck (table) and Edwin Scheier (ceramic bowl). The exhibition was later shown at the Art Institute of Chicago (March 15-April 26, 1954) and the San Francisco Museum of Art (June 17-August 15, 1954). 

October 1957

The ACC began publishing Forum, a newsletter, to serve as its “conversation in print” with members. It becomes a column in Craft Horizons in 1962. The first issue of Forum included ACC news and reports by David Campbell (then executive vice president) and Thomas Tibbs (then director of the Museum of Contemporary Crafts), as well as an assessment of summer craft fairs and news of craftsmen’s activities across the U.S. In his column “Your Museum,” Tibbs noted that “at the approach of the museum’s second season, seven major exhibitions were presented, five of which were originated within the museum, with more than 121,000 people in attendance.” The column “Here are the Facts” reported that ACC membership was at 1,500. Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors check out original exhibitions at the museum, now known as the Museum of Arts and Design, in New York City, and the ACC has more than 25,000 members from around the world.

October 26, 1986

The American Craft Museum relocated to 40 West 53rd Street in New York City. The 18,000-square-foot three-level-museum occupied the northeast corner of the E.F. Hutton office tower in an agreement through which ACC owns the spaced as a condominium. Oddly enough, it was the nation’s first condominium museum. “CRAFT TODAY: Poetry of the Physical,” a survey exhibition, inaugurated the new museum (through March 22, 1987). Curator Paul J. Smith noted, “A remarkable 328-page catalog was published to accompany "CRAFT TODAY: Poetry of the Physical."" To view images from the exhibition, visit the ACC Library Digital Collections. In 2008, the Museum of Arts and Design relocated to its stunning current home at 2 Columbus Circle.     

October 19-21, 2006

Two hundred and sixty leaders from the craft field gathered in Houston, Texas, at the Council’s first national conference in 20 years: Shaping the Future of Craft. Conferees from across the country and a number from abroad enjoyed an elegant opening reception at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston with Bill White, then mayor of Houston; Peter Marzio, the late director of the Museum of Fine Arts; and keynote speaker, sculptor Martin Puryear. During the following two days of the conference, a series of panels focused on the intersection between craft, design, and art and how this cross-disciplinary learning was shaping the field. One of the highlights at Houston was the closing ceremony, “Three Wishes for the Future of Craft,” which gave legends in the field Jack Lenor Larsen, Lois Moran, and Paul J. Smith, as well as emerging leaders Sonya Clark, Alleghany Meadows, and Namita Wiggers the opportunity to share their hopes for the future. Copies of the conference proceedings from Houston are available for view or purchase through the ACC Library.

“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.