The first annual CraftWeek DC kicks off this Wednesday, April 22, with five days filled with exhibits, panel discussions, open studios and more. The week is an expanded program of crafty celebration, anchored by the 27th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show and the James Renwick Alliance (JRA) Spring Craft Weekend.
The week’s worth of celebration of all things craft was named as such by Mayor Adrian Fenty and is organized by Washington area artists, galleries and the James Renwick Alliance, to celebrate “the growing reputation of artistic achievement of local artists working in clay, glass, fiber, metal and wood,” as stated in the proclamation. It is a unique opportunity to see studio crafts and meet makers from internationally recognized artists to up-and-comers exhibiting for the first time at the Smithsonian Craft Show.
To say that CraftWeek DC offers a wide range of programing is an understatement. With over 15 current and new exhibits, open studios, panel discussions, gala events and all programing associate with the Smithsonian Craft Show and the James Renwick Alliance Spring Craft Weekend, you will be hard pressed to see and do it all. Events stretch across the metropolitan region with open studio demonstrations by artists in the Mt. Rainier area to gallery exhibits in Alexandria and Tysons Corner.
One impetus for CraftWeek DC, the Smithsonian Craft Show, is in its 27th year. This prestigious juried craft show features 120 artisans who work in 12 different craft categories. The Craft Show will open at the National Building Museum on Thursday, April 23 and runs through Sunday, April 26, with a preview benefit on Wednesday evening. Be sure to catch the ceramic demonstrations featuring exhibitors, faculty and students from the Corcoran as well as the “Emerging Artists” area, which highlights work by students from the Corcoran.
The Spring Craft Weekend, at the other end of the week long celebration, will host its annual Gala and silent and live auctions on Saturday evening, April 25, to benefit the James Renwick Alliance ‘s mission of building the contemporary craft collection of the Renwick Gallery, education programs, and scholarship on 20th and 21st century American craft through post-graduate JRA Fellowships.
