On November 2nd, the American Craft Council will converge at SOFA Chicago to honor the 2012 College of Fellows. While the program is overseen by the ACC, being named a Fellow is a peer-nominated distinction, not a Council decision. Therefore, it often has personal significance to the recognized artists. The ACC archives are brimming with correspondence from makers, often on lovely hand-printed stationary, about their induction to the College, as well as artist files built up prior and subsequent to their nominations.

The Academy of Fellows of the American Crafts Council (F.A.C.C., now simply known as the College of Fellows) program, launched in 1975, was the brainchild of textile designer and ACC trustee Jack Lenor Larsen. It was he who went to founder and then board chair Aileen Osborn Webb, urging her to consider recognizing craftspeople who had contributed in a significant way to the field through a jury of their peers. The trustees of the ACC agreed and proceeded to nominate 17 individuals to the first group of Fellows. The board also appointed the 1976 Fellows, before turning the process over to the Fellows themselves. A subcommittee of Fellows, led by a member of the ACC Board who is also a Fellow, reviews the nominations, and it is up to members of the College to vote for the nominees. Woodworker Sam Maloof was the first board member/Fellow to lead the subcommittee and was instrumental in raising the profile of the program in its foundational years.  

The induction ceremony for the College of Fellows has been held at numerous locations over the years, including Council headquarters, ACC craft shows and conferences, institutions like the Renwick and the Oakland Museum, and of course, SOFA. Interestingly, the first College of Fellows members were actually inducted via teleconference, with a ceremony taking place at the same time in San Francisco for West Coast artists and New York for those from the East. In a letter to designated 1975 Fellow Harvey Littleton, Webb said, “With the financial austerities that surround us all, it has been decided no tot try to convene all members in one spot, as would like to do, but to avail ourselves of twentieth century technology and meet concurrently by telephone.” (It should be noted teleconferencing technology was invented in the late 1960s.)                      

Today there are 288 members of the College of Fellows, representing many different backgrounds and mediums, yet all recognized for their contributions and excellence as makers. Included in this group are Honorary Fellows - curators, scholars, and administrators, acknowledged for the dedication they have shown to the field. Information on all the Fellows abounds in our library and archival collections.