Documenting Private Collections

A Craft Champion Circle Online Event

Join us for a dynamic conversation about documenting private collections and the practical and long term considerations of documentation and hear a brief update about ACC.

Documenting Private Collections

June 24 at 12–1 p.m. CT
Virtual via Zoom

ACC Craft Champion Circle members are invited to join us for a dynamic conversation about documenting private collections. Through personal stories and professional insights, speakers will explore the practical and long term considerations of documentation and stewardship. Drawing on perspectives from collection management, appraisals, archiving, and collecting, this program will examine what it means to care for and document collections in ways that preserve their cultural and personal significance for future generations. Together, we will discuss stewardship, the inner workings of private collections, how to document a collection, why it matters, and the lasting impact it can have on artists, institutions, and the broader history of craft.

Featured speakers include Heather Powers, appraiser & advisor for craft & design collections; Sienna Patti, gallery owner and appraiser; Hugh McHarg, Director of the Rakow Research Library at The Corning Museum of Glass, who will speak about the legacy of collectors Paul and Elmerina Parkman; and collectors Jeff Bernstein and Judy Chernoff, known for their significant 2022 gift of turned wood artworks to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Executive Director, Andrea Specht, will begin the gathering with a brief update about the American Craft Council and our Director of Development, Jaimianne Jacobin, will moderate the panel.

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Participants

Sienna Pati

Sienna Patti is the founder of Sienna Patti Contemporary and Sienna Patti Art Appraisal & Advisory in Lenox, Massachusetts, and a leading expert in contemporary studio craft and design who, over more than 25 years, has curated 200+ exhibitions, advised collectors and institutions, and helped shape significant collections across jewelry, ceramics, glass, wood, textile, and decorative arts.

Heather Powers

Heather Powers is a textile designer, design consultant, and personal property appraiser whose 30-year career spans textile design, collection management, and legacy planning, drawing on deep expertise in material culture, historical craft, and the lives of artists, craftspeople, and collectors.

Hugh McHarg

Hugh McHarg is the Director of the Rakow Research Library at The Corning Museum of Glass where he is responsible for leadership of the Library, Education and Interpretation, and Publications.

Judy Chernoff and Jeff Bernstein

Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein are dedicated craft advocates and collectors who have spent more than three decades building an internationally recognized collection of sculptural and turned wood art.

Andrea Specht

Andrea Specht discovered her passion for the visual arts in childhood and earned a BA in Studio Art from Macalester College. Andrea took the helm at ACC in 2022 after serving as the vice president of advancement and foundation executive director at Normandale Community College, and before that, as the executive director of Artistry, a multidisciplinary arts organization.

Jaimianne Jacobin

Jaimainne Jacobin is the Director of Development at the American Craft Council. She has made it her personal mission to inspire craft patronage as a means of supporting artists and preserving the field of American Craft. Previously she served as Development Director at Craft in America and as Executive Director of the James Renwick Alliance for Craft. In 2022, she wrote The Future of Craft Collecting for ACC magazine.

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