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​James Renwick Alliance for craft
​Chrysalis Award for Emerging Artists

2022 FOCUS: wood
August 1, 2022: Application submission deadline 
September 7, 2022: Winner announcement​
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The Chrysalis Award was created by the James Renwick Alliance for Craft to promote and inspire US-based emerging craft artists. "Emerging" is defined as someone early in their professional artistic career, with no regard to age, who has not had a solo museum exhibition or exclusive representation by a commercial gallery. The ideal candidate demonstrates excellence in their work and a commitment to developing in unique and dynamic ways.

Our 2022 award will focus on emerging artists working in WOOD. Different mediums will be represented each year.
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The awardee will receive a $5,000 unrestricted award, a one-year membership to JRACraft, the opportunity to give a formal presentation about their work at a JRACraft event, and a trip to Washington, DC to meet with other artists, collectors, and JRA members. The 2022 Chrysalis Award is generously made possible by JRA members Brenda Erickson and Barbara Wolanin.

Because of health concerns, the 2022 events may be conducted virtually. 

- APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED -


The awardee will be selected by an independent panel of jurors who are recognized experts in each year's field of focus. This year's jurors include:

Fleur Bresler is an avid collector and philanthropist of craft art, with a special emphasis on wood and textiles. Amongst her numerous accomplishments she is a former board president of the Center for Art in Wood, a 2014 American Craft Council Aileen Osborn Webb Awardee for Philanthropy, and in 2010 part of her noteworthy collection of almost 70 pieces of turned and carved wood was donated to the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, accompanied by an exhibition and catalog "A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection." 

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Monica Hampton is the Executive Director of The Furniture Society. She has had a lifelong interest in the arts and education. Her background includes a combination of fine arts, art history, education, and public outreach, with an emphasis on program development for museums and organizations specializing in history, fine art, craft, and design. As an independent consultant , she produced the American Craft Council’s 2016 conference among other cultural gatherings. Monica served as the Director of Education at The Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) and was formerly the Director of Education at the American Craft Council (ACC).

Jennifer-Navva Milliken is the Executive Director and Chief Curator for the Center for Art in Wood. Prior to her arrival at the Center, she served as an embedded curatorial staff member in art museums around the world; as an independent curator; and as the founder of a cross-disciplinary art space. Her exhibitions have been presented in museums, art fairs, galleries, and unconventional spaces, and her writings have been included in exhibition catalogues, anthologies, and publications that investigate and critique the intersecting fields of art, craft, and design. With a global perspective, honed through a life split between two continents, she is driven by the extraordinary power of the arts to challenge preconceptions and bridge divides.
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Cabinet by 2021 JRACraft Chrysalis Awardee, Rachel David

2021 Metal: Rachel David

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This year, the Alliance is proud to support Rachel David who represents a change in the future of metalworking. Her expressive work and support for women in blacksmithing signifies our support not only for her but also her effort to affirm in a gender-biased field that “skill and craftsmanship are superior to brute force.”

​Rachel David received a Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College in 2004 and has continued her studies through workshops at Penland School of Craft, John C. Campbell School of Craft, Nunez Community College and Haywood Community College where she recently received a machining certification. In 2019, she was featured in 
40 Under 40: The Next Generation of American Metal Artists at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN and received the Smithsonian Craft Show’s Best in Show Award and the Artists Gold Choice Award. In addition to her artistic practice, David is a founding member of the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths which supports inclusivity through mentorship, support and scholarships. 

Our deepest gratitude to JRACraft member, Stan Asrael, for sponsoring this year’s award.
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2020 CERAMICS: KATE ROBERTS

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"My practice is a meditation on time and its role in the decay of objects and memories.  Inspiration is drawn from historical objects, the architecture around me, or a personal relationship.  The physical properties of my materials - parched, cracked clay and vitreous porcelain - at once delicate and dense emulate states of decay in nature yet are built and mended by hand. This contradiction, of meticulously crafting the ravages of time, is at the foundation of my work."

"I was impressed by the wide range of work presented by these ceramic artists.  They presented complex views rooted in materiality and process, unique and diverse global traditions, varieties of techniques and skills that bridged ancient processes with science and technology. So many had personal stories to tell that revealed the multicultural and hybrid fabric of this country." - 2020 Juror, Ibrahim Said

In light of the ongoing pandemic, the Alliance raised additional funds to award three Awards of Excellence. These artists include Maxwell Mustardo, Eliza Au, and Chris M. Rodgers.
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2019 Mixed media: Richard james

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Richard W. James creates large-scale surreal figures out of meticulously crafted earthenware and found objects. Influenced by his upbringing in rural Tennessee and the craft skills handed down from his parents and grandparents, James’ often unsettling contemporary ceramic sculptures incorporate the materials and processes he associates with the informative years of his life to question the cultural lenses in which he grew up.

​​“The jurors were impressed with James’ superb craftsmanship but ultimately it was his unique vision and voice that captured our attention. We were delighted to have strong interest in the Chrysalis award from all over the United States this year, with a record number of applications, demonstrating vibrancy in the craft field” -  former JRA President, Michele Manatt 

​Thank you to JRA member, Pati Young, for sponsoring this years award!
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2018 Glass: Dean Allison

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"Dean described his work as a documentation of human form, an exploration into the ways we perceive others and a study of portraiture in studio glass. Using a combination of old and new processes and materials, he aims to capture a moment in time. He is especially interested in understanding individuals through an analysis of subtle gesture, physical attributes and the immediate perceptions those attributes spark. He described how glass is the perfect medium for him, since it has characteristics common to people: it is transparent, opaque, fragile, broken, sharp, incompatible, rough, polished and colorful." - JRA Board Member and Chrysalis Committee Chair, Nikki O'Neill
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2016 Fiber: Shea Wilkinson 

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"I work primarily with free motion quilting, which allows me the capability of not only forming the texture of the piece, but also the imagery and narrative, using a needle and thread. I use quilting as the anchor for my enthusiasms through different bodies of work, from extraterrestrial to natural worlds, from mythical to the scientific." - Shea Wilkinson, 2016 Awardee
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JAMES RENWICK ALLIANCE FOR CRAFT | 5335 WISCONSIN AVENUE NW #440 WASHINGTON DC 20015 | ​301.907.3888 | INFO@JRA.ORG
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Awards >
      • Masters of the Medium
      • Distinguished Educators
      • Chrysalis Award
      • One-Of-A-Kind
    • Renwick Gallery Support
    • Volunteer / Employment
  • Upcoming
    • JRACraft Events
    • Spring Craft Weekend
    • Distinguished Artist Series
    • JRA Day
    • Travel
    • Community Craft Calendar
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Artist Members
  • News
    • JRACraft News
    • Craft Quarterly
    • Sign up for our eNewsletters
  • DONATE