American Craft Council Evolves Digital Presence, Brand, and Programs to Welcome All Who Believe That Making Creates a Meaningful World
Minneapolis, MN
December 2, 2024
The American Craft Council, a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to advancing craft and its practitioners, is excited to announce the evolution of its digital presence and brand identity to warmly welcome all who believe that making creates a meaningful world.
ACC’s new website and refreshed brand parallel other steps the organization is taking to meet audiences where they are, and to engage multiple generations of makers and appreciators with programs that inspire joy and nurture community. In coming years, longstanding ACC events such as American Craft Made Baltimore (Maryland), the largest juried craft fair on the East Coast, and new regional events like American Craft Fest St. Paul (Minnesota) will introduce participants to a wider array of makers and making, and offer more hands-on and interactive experiences for attendees in collaboration with place-based partners.
ACC will continue to publish its award-winning magazine, American Craft, while adding more online stories and other forms of digital content to reach a wider audience. Published since 1941, American Craft is unique in covering a continuum of U.S. makers – from early career to nationally recognized – as well as craft practices ranging from weaving and ceramics to instrument making and birchbark canoe building. From handcrafted objects used daily in our homes to fine craft in museum collections, American Craft illuminates and celebrates the diversity of American craft and its makers.
As ACC evolves its longstanding work to support individual craftspeople and develop an audience for their work, the organization sees an opportunity to pursue a bolder goal: to mobilize the large but fragmented craft ecosystem toward a movement that changes American culture for the better. The ecosystem includes studio craft artists making one-of-a-kind objects, heritage craft practitioners and culture bearers, organizations and institutions that champion the handcrafted, companies that employ craftspeople, a spectrum of appreciators who range from the craft curious to seasoned collectors, and more. Through enhanced communication, coordination, and advocacy, these diverse constituents can together catalyze an American craft renaissance that provides compelling alternatives to mass production and over-consumption.
The time is right for ACC to partner with like-minded organizations to accelerate such a movement. An estimated 5 million to 31 million Americans earn an income from art, craft, or creative entrepreneurship, and given the choice, 75% of American consumers would purchase handcrafted goods over machine-made products. (Nest, The State of the Handworker Economy, 2nd Edition: US Makers.)
“ACC’s efforts to champion the artful work of the human hand have never been more timely,” said Andrea Specht, the organization’s executive director. “Making things by hand and living with handcrafted objects bring significant meaning to our lives. And, expanding access to craft-centered livelihoods and ways of living can help address the most urgent challenges we face. ACC is energized by the potential to advance the values of craft and craftsmanship through new kinds of partnerships and seek conversations with a broad spectrum of potential collaborators.”
ABOUT THE AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL:
The American Craft Council (ACC) is a nationwide, membership-based nonprofit working to foster livelihoods and ways of living grounded in the artful work of the human hand, creating a more joyful, humane, and regenerative world. Building upon an 80+ year legacy of tradition and innovation, ACC is part of a growing coalition of organizations, makers, and advocates building a movement that supports craft-centered livelihoods and ways of living—an American craft renaissance.