Craft Happenings

iNgqikithi yokuPhica / Weaving Meanings

Artists in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal region have long been turning brightly colored phone wires into a range of beautiful and functional objects, including beer pot lids (izimbenge), vessels, platters, and plates, as well as ambitious sculptural assemblages. This exhibition foregrounds the traditional knowledge behind the works as well as the experiences and creative processes of individual artists.

Adorned with Memory

The Heard presents necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings from the notable collection of Native art assembled by the late Arizona grocery-store magnate Eddie Basha. The show underlines Basha’s longtime support of Native creativity and his friendships with artists including Duane Maktima (Laguna Pueblo/Hopi), Terry and Joe B. Reano (Santo Domingo Pueblo), and Carl and Irene Clark (Diné).

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery

The Pueblo Pottery Collective curated this exhibition of more than 100 pieces from 21 Indigenous communities, ranging from the time before contact with Europeans to the present day. “The curators’ firsthand knowledge of pots and potters, family rituals, traditional materials, and daily use,” write the organizers, “grounds viewers in a powerful sense of people and place.”

Mata Ortiz: Ceramics from the Collection of Norman Sherman and Virginia Chambers Sherman

An exhibition of pottery created by contemporary artisans in the town of Mata Ortiz, Mexico, at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

History: A Legacy in Motion: Alfred Ceramic Art 1900–2025

The New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics, founded as a unit of Alfred University in 1900, has for 125 years trained a galaxy of makers and teachers, essentially launching American studio ceramics. This retrospective exhibition showcases major works by 26 artists who taught or currently teach at this prestigious institution.

Superfine: Tailoring Black Style

Garments, accessories, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, film excerpts, and other resources will tell the story of Black dandyism: men, and sometimes women, of African heritage dressing in high style. What began as a requirement of servitude—enslaved servants’ fancy dress reflected the wealth of their enslavers—evolved into an assertion of the wearers’ irony, wit, and pride.