In Atlanta, A Partnership Rooted in Making

Partnering with organizations has helped us grow dramatically. Our Executive Director, Jamie Badoud, refers to it as our superpower. “In a time with limited resources, all organizations are looking for new ways to be relevant and sustainable,” he says. “It is critical that organizations with aligned missions work and grow together.” We are proud to lean into our roots with this partnership with ACC. 

Our organization was founded in 1934, when Mary Hambidge established an artist enclave and sustainable farm in memory of her artist partner, Jay Hambidge. This creative haven was first populated with skilled weavers, like Mary herself, whose vibrant and coveted textiles were featured in museum shows at the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

The Hambidge Center recently began hosting craft and wellness workshops at the newly established Antinori Village while further activating our pottery studio and anagama kiln. Paul S. Briggs, Vicente Garcia, Keisha Cameron, and others will lead overnight retreat-style experiences that invite deep engagement with process, material, and place. From indigo dyeing  to raku, botanical printmaking, and hand-built clay, attendees can engage with a breadth of craft mediums. 

“Partnerships like the one we have with ACC are impactful because we share so much history, so many values, and audience members,” stated Deputy Director Ife Williams. “Valuing quality over quantity, the uniqueness of handmade objects and the sincerity of process-laden making is at the heart of both of our organizations, and brings a warmth and authenticity to our partnership and the event.”

We are excited to see what Atlanta Craft & Design 2027 holds for the area. The metro art ecosystem is made up of over a thousand Hambidge Fellows across all disciplines. As one of the largest cities in the South, Atlanta’s art scene has an undeniable influence on the broader region. There is a local motto found on T-shirts and street art and popularized by Hambidge Fellow Bem Joiner, “ATLANTA INFLUENCES EVERYTHING.” It will be thrilling to see the ways in which this fair has an impact on the city, with artisans flocking from all corners of the country who will, in turn, bring home with them cultural experiences from Atlanta.

From the immersive installations to the auction work and the micro-market of craft-based work, every facet of the opening reception honored unique methods of creative production, aesthetic utility, and the elevation of the everyday. We hope the space and continued partnership with the American Craft Council—inspired by and rooted in craft’s enduring lineage—encourages others critically about contemporary art in all of its forms and mediums.

Jac Kuntz Goldsmith is an arts writer and the Hambidge Center’s digital media specialist. She has an MA in art journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA in painting from Clemson University. She has worked in contemporary galleries, academia, and for nonprofit visual art publications.