the Center for Craft is excited to host the Craft Archive Fellowship Virtual Program, showcasing the recently published research of our inaugural Craft Archive Fellows in Hyperallergic. The program will feature a presentation of archival research that documents histories that have been erased or missing from dominant narratives in craft and recognize neglected legacies of individual craftspeople and the contributions of diverse craft communities. This research is vital for telling more accurate and expanded craft histories that will shape conversations and create new legacies, leading to a more inclusive future for craft.
Over the last 8 months, these fellows have been engaged in both conventional and innovative approaches to conducting archival research. Taking an expansive understanding of what an archive is and can be, they have utilized various repositories to find primary source materials like digital or in-person archives, institutional and community-created archives, objects, oral histories, and even sites, and places.
The Craft Archive Virtual Program will include presentations from the Fellows on their archival research, which centers cultural preservation through community-created dance costumes by Dutch-Indonesian refugees and shared craft pedagogies of Cherokee artists to crafts impact on the construction of Puerto Rican identity and Black craft histories that helped shape American education. Followed by a roundtable discussion led by Hrag Vartanian, Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder of Hyperallergic. Be sure to read the Fellow’s articles on Hyperallergic before attending the program!
The Craft Archive Fellowship Virtual Program is free and open to the public.