ACC staff will be returning from our 47th annual flagship marketplace in Baltimore and may be delayed in responding to calls and emails. ×

Schedule

Schedule

Unless noted, events take place at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

More to Explore
Our friends at CraftNOW Philadelphia have put together a great resource for exploring craft in Philadelphia by neighborhood. Be sure to check out their partner directory for concurrent exhibitions happening throughout the city.

Thursday, October 10
Community & Agency: The Ecology of Craft
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Welcome, registration, and information
Outside Millennium Hall
8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Sky High Facility for Creative Work, including the Bureau of Craft Information
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Craft Ecology: Philadelphia Bus Tour*
Depart from and finish at Loews Philadelphia Hotel
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Craft Ecology: Philadelphia Walking Tour*
Depart from Loews Philadelphia Hotel and finish in Center City
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Ceramics] in Action*
The Clay Studio
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Textiles] in Action*
Southeast by Southeast
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Writing] in Action*
University of Pennsylvania's Critical Writing Program
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Digital] in Action*
University of the Arts' Makerspace
1 – 2 p.m. Meet-up for Equity Award recipients
Sky High Facility, Pod 2
2 – 3 p.m. Present Tense Speed-Networking Opportunity
Sky High Facility, Pod 2
3 – 6 p.m.
THURSDAY MAIN STAGE PROGRAM
Millennium Hall
 
3 – 3:25 p.m. Welcome and opening remarks
Michael Strand, professor of art and head of visual arts, North Dakota State University, board of trustees, ACC
Sarah Schultz, executive director, ACC
3:25 – 3:35 p.m. Philadelphia as Craft Capital
Clara Hollander, founder, CraftNOW Philadelphia
3:35 – 3:45 p.m. A Philadelphia Story
Helen W. Drutt English, director emeritus, Philadelphia Council of Professional Craftsmen, founder and director, Hellen Drutt Gallery, trustee, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, ACC fellow
3:45 – 4:45 p.m. Main Stage Moment 1: Toward a Healthy Craft Ecosystem
#craftecology
Six panelists representing Philadelphia’s robust, interwoven craft movement will share how they serve and are supported by the greater craft community.
Can this case study inspire similar conversations in other cities?

Moderator:
Jennifer Zwilling, curator of artistic programs, The Clay Studio

Panelists:
Elisabeth Agro, Nancy M. McNeil associate curator of American modern and contemporary crafts and decorative arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Ryan Berley, founder, owner, Franklin Fountain and Shane Confectionery
Seth Bruggeman, associate professor of American Studies/History, Temple University
Syd Carpenter, professor of studio art, Swarthmore College
Alex Gilliam, co-founder, Tiny WPA, founder, Public Workshop
Michael Hurwitz, furniture maker, ACC fellow
Roberto Lugo, ceramist, assistant professor of ceramics, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

4:45 – 5 p.m. BREAK
5 – 6 p.m. Main Stage Moment 2: Crafting Stories, Storytellers, and Storytelling Machines in the Tense Present
#craftnarratives
What do we talk about when we talk about craft? Where do we write when we write about craft?
How do we publish when we publish on craft? Hrag Vartanian sets the stage for three days of conversation about craft as a catalyst for contemporary American life.

Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief and co-founder, Hyperallergic

6:30 p.m. Buses begin departing for Tyler Craft Mash-Up
7 – 8:30 p.m. Tyler Craft Mash-Up
Tyler School of Art and Architecture
8:30 p.m. Buses begin departing for Loews Philadelphia Hotel
Friday, October 11
Intersections & Innovation: Craft in Action
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Welcome, registration, and information
8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Sky High Facility for Creative Work, including the Bureau of Craft Information
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
FRIDAY MAIN STAGE PROGRAM
Millennium Hall
 
9 – 9:15 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks
Michael Strand, professor of art and head of visual arts, North Dakota State University, board of trustees, ACC
Sarah Schultz, executive director, ACC
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Main Stage Moment 3: Gear Shift
#craftimpact
How can craft participate in our current paradigm-shattering age of technology and political dispute?
This conversation will draw on craft history for an answer, from the emergence of American industry in the 19th century to the proliferation of avant-garde ideas from the Bauhaus in the 20th.

Glenn Adamson, curator and writer working at the intersection of craft, design history, and contemporary art, senior scholar, Yale Center for British Art
Susan S. Szenasy, director of design innovation and former publisher and editor-in-chief, Metropolis magazine

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Object Story
Lucille Tenazas, graphic designer and associate dean, School of Art, Media and Technology, Parsons School of Design, board of trustees, ACC
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Main Stage Moment 4: Making a Seat at the Table: Women Transform Woodworking
#craftequity
Organized in conjunction with a concurrent exhibition at The Center for Art in Wood, this interactive discussion will tackle the ways that women makers are deploying their work to build a more sustainable, equitable, inclusive future.
Moderator:
Jennifer-Navva Milliken, artistic director, The Center for Art in Wood

Panelists:
Meg Bye, woodworker and sculptor, founder and principal artist, Knot and Burl Studios
Emily Bunker, woodworker
Sarah Marriage, furniture maker and founder, A Workshop of Our Own
Laura Mays, program director, Fine Woodworking program at the College of the Redwoods in Northern California, founding president, Krenov Foundation
Janice Smith, furniture maker
Folayemi (Fo) Wilson, artist, designer, educator, independent curator, and writer, board of trustees, ACC

11:30 – 11:45 a.m. BREAK
11:45 a.m. – 12 p.m. Object Story
Vashti DuBois, founder and executive director, The Colored Girls Museum
12 – 1 p.m. Main Stage Moment 5: Where We Learn / How We Learn: De-Coding Craft Education
#craftknowledge
How can we generate a more expansive and inclusive way of making and teaching craft? This panel will interrogate the contemporary systems through which craft is taught, passed down, or picked up and investigate alternative ways craft may come to be valued and understood.

Moderator:
Anna Metcalfe, artist and ceramics professor, Minneapolis Community and Technical College

Panelists:
PJ Gubatina Policarpio, educator, curator, and community organizer
Paul Sacaridiz, executive director, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
Carol Zou, artist, writer, educator, and cultural organizer

2 – 3 p.m. Panel OBJECTS Redux: The Generational Legacy of "OBJECTS: USA"
Millennium Hall
Since its launch 50 years ago, the seminal exhibition “OBJECTS: USA” and its concurrent catalogue have become an enduring document of the state of American studio craft.
We will discuss the impact and legacy of the exhibition and look toward the next 50 years of contemporary craft.

Moderator:
Perry A. Price, executive director, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Panelists:
Sarah Darro, curator of contemporary craft, material culture, and design, 2019 ACC Emerging Voices scholar
Bruce W. Pepich, executive director and curator of collections, Racine Art Museum, board of trustees, ACC, ACC fellow
Paul J. Smith, director emeritus, American Craft Museum (now Museum of Arts and Design), ACC fellow
Lena Vigna, curator of exhibitions, Racine Art Museum

2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Wood] in Action
The Center for Art in Wood
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Workshop: Craft [Printmaking] in Action
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
2:30 – 6:30 p.m. Craft Ecology: Philadelphia Bus Tour
Depart from Loews Philadelphia Hotel and finish at The Clay Studio
2:30 – 5:30 p.m. Craft Ecology: Philadelphia Walking Tour
Depart from and finish at Loews Philadelphia Hotel
3 – 5 p.m. Object Stories: Dispatches from the Field
Sky High Facility, Pod 2
6 – 9 p.m. Doors Open on Philadelphia's Craft Capital

The Clay Studio
On view: "From Storage to Studio"
Remarks at 7 p.m.

The Center for Art in Wood
On view: "Making a Seat at the Table: Women Transform Woodworking"
Remarks at 8 p.m.
9 – 11 p.m. "Tense-Present" Mixtape Relase Party
Paradigm Gallery + Studio
Saturday, October 12
Storytelling & Narrative: What We Talk About When We Talk About Craft
8 a.m. – 11 a.m. Welcome, registration, and information
8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Sky High Facility for Creative Work, including the Bureau of Craft Information
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
SATURDAY MAIN STAGE PROGRAM
Millennium Hall
 
9 – 9:15 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks
Michael Strand, professor of art and head of visual arts, North Dakota State University, board of trustees, ACC
Sarah Schultz, executive director, ACC
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Main Stage Moment 6: Archives Live
#craftlegacy
This conversation will illuminate the one-on-one interactions that curators share with the craft world’s notable artists and figures in their homes and studios before a collection is acquired and made public.
The memory recall that occurs in real time, triggered by decades old documents, often becomes a powerful narrative delivered in the moment.

Mary Savig, curator of manuscripts, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Judith Schaechter, artist and ACC fellow

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Object Story
Jennifer Ling Datchuk, ceramist and 2017 ACC Emerging Voices artist
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. BREAK
10:45 – 11 a.m. Object Story
Raven Halfmoon, ceramist and 2019 ACC Emerging Voices finalist
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Main Stage Moment 7: What Craft Offers
#craftinclusion
This roundtable between artists whose work traverses disciplines, cultures, and categories will explore how practices and concepts of "art" and "craft" continue to transform contemporary making.
Through a lively conversation, we will explore such topics as the role of indigenous practices in contemporary art, the power of women artists in our community, and what we mean by craft today.

Moderator:
Sharon M. Louden, artist, educator, and advocate for artists, editor, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series, artistic director of visual arts, Chautauqua Institution

Panelists:
Raheleh T. Filsoofi, multi-disciplinary artist, assistant professor of ceramics, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Sonya Kelliher-Combs, mixed media artist, arts advocate, educator, and curator
Beth Lipman, artist, ACC fellow

12 – 1:15 p.m. Community meal (lunch provided)
Director of Temple Contemporary Robert Blackson will introduce our lunch conversation, focusing on the ways in which programming of, by, and for a community leads to targeted impact.
Through examples of Temple Contemporary's recent work, including Symphony for a Broken Orchestra and Funeral for a Home, as well as other national and international programs, Blackson will illustrate a curatorial shift in the way programs can be crafted to build a healthy mutuality of institutional momentum and social purpose.
1:15 – 1:30 p.m. BREAK
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Main Stage Moment 8: Craft is Long
#craftculture
This session connects multiple craft communities through music, storytelling, and conversation.
If craft is long and art is the newest iteration, connecting studio craft to folklife and storytelling helps us all understand the depth, breadth, and duration of craft.

Keith Bear, Mandan-Hidatsa storyteller and musician
Troyd Geist, folklorist, North Dakota Council on the Arts
Bud Larsen, craftsman and maker of Hardanger fiddles
Namita Gupta Wiggers, director of MA in critical and historical craft studies, Warren Wilson College

2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Connect, Reflect, and Commit: How can Craft be a Catalyst for Contemporary American Life?
After three days of exploration, what are you ready to commit to?
Collectively, can we create strong connections to create enduring change? Are you ready to put craft into action? In what may be the most important 120 minutes of “Present Tense: 2019,” seize the chance to reflect with one another on how craft can, and should, be essential in our lives. Don’t miss this facilitated group experience that will impact the direction of the American Craft Council and the craft ecologies we envision building together.

Presented in collaboration with the Socially Engaged Craft Collective

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. A Toast!
Raise a glass, make a toast, and celebrate the achievements we made during the past three days – with crafted specialties from the Berley brothers of Philadelphia.

 

*Pre-registration required   |   Schedule subject to change