Making Connections

The Crafty Librarian shares examples of how the American Craft Council has forged relationships, partnerships, and careers throughout its history.

By Beth Goodrich
June 1, 2022

Summer 2022

From the Archives

Free To Read

Photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

Installation image from the 1956 Young Americans/Young Scandinavians exhibition sponsored by the ACC.

The American Craft Council Library & Archives in Minneapolis contains the country’s most comprehensive archive of contemporary American craft history, with more than 20,000 print publications, files on nearly 4,000 craft artists, four major archival collections, and a robust digital collection.

Here, librarian Beth Goodrich considers the many uses of the term forge to reflect on the mission of the American Craft Council and its commitment to artists, as represented in the ACC Digital Collections.

Photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

Edith Heath, Marguerite Wildenhain, Lenore Tawney and Toshiko Takaezu at the First Annual Conference of American Craftsmen.

Forging Relationships

The first Conference of American Craftsmen sponsored by the ACC was held at California’s Asilomar Conference Grounds in June 1957. It was intended to foster relationships between craft artists who typically live “a deeply interior life,” according to ACC founder Aileen Osborn Webb. Pictured right are participants Edith Heath, Marguerite Wildenhain, Lenore Tawney, and Toshiko Takaezu.

As written in the conference proceedings, “There are certain things the transcript cannot reveal . . . the good fellowship that prevailed, the stimulation of ideas that resulted from an interchange of views and experiences. And since the conference produced in addition a reaffirmation of faith in craftsmanship as a career . . . its cumulative impact is impossible fully to assess.”

The conference closed out with a bartering session where artists could trade their works with each other, “one of the richest sources of communication among craftsmen to come out of the conference.”

Photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

Attendees assemble at the first Conference of American Craftsmen in 1957, sponsored by ACC.

Forging Partnerships

The 1962 exhibition Collaboration: Artist and Architect at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts explored a new sense of partnership between artists and architects developing in the mid-20th century. Then-director of the museum David R. Campbell, himself an award-winning architect, saw a new partnership between art and architecture emerging, one in which craft was not merely integrated into a space, but was employed to give meaning and human proportion to a space. Campbell’s hope was that the exhibition would foster and deepen the partnership between the fields.

Photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

Ceramic wall mural by Frans Wildenhain, included in the 1962 exhibition Collaboration: Artist and Architect.

Forging Careers

The Young Americans series of competitions sponsored by the ACC began in 1950 and aimed to launch the careers of emerging artists. These competitions featured craft artists under the age of 30 and culminated in an exhibition, initially held at America House. The 1956 Young Americans and Young Scandinavians exhibition was the first of the annual competition exhibitions to be held in the newly opened Museum of Contemporary Crafts.

Learn More

To explore the ACC Digital Archives, visit digital.craftcouncil.org.

Photo courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

Silversmith Lewis A. Wise with students.

Before you go!

We believe that making creates a meaningful world, and we hope you do, too. Deeply researched and impactful journalism on the craft community is in short supply. At the same time, being featured in a national publication can have a major effect on a maker’s or artist’s livelihood, particularly those who are just starting in their career. You can help support our mission and the work of makers around the country by becoming a member or by making a gift today.

Thank you!
American Craft Editors

Join Donate