The James Renwick Alliance has committed to supporting the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum taking place in 2022. Today we announce that over $30,000 in funds have been raised at our annual JRA Craft Weekend.

"Supporting the Renwick Gallery in their 50th anniversary brings us closer to the Museum and our history as an organization. We have provided $3 million for acquisitions, exhibitions, public programs, and publications in the past and I now look forward to leading the organization in new efforts to support the Museum as we celebrate our own 40th anniversary." says Board President, J.G. Harrington.
​

On Saturday, October 24 at 1pm ET the James Renwick Alliance hosted a symposium and award ceremony for the four 2020 JRA Distinguished Educators Syd Carpenter, Warren Seelig, Sondra Sherman and Craft in America. Leila Cartier, Executive Director of CraftNOW Philadelphia, a nonprofit that unites the leading institutions and artists of Philadelphia’s craft community, will serve as the symposium’s moderator.

The Distinguished Educator award recognizes the career impact of educators who have achieved excellence and innovation in education, have impacted and guided future artists, and whose body of work has made a significant contribution to education in the American Craft field. The JRA bestows the award biannually, and the artist/educators are at the center of an awards weekend known this year as JRA Craft Weekend. To learn more about the JRA Craft Weekend visit: www.jra.org/craft-weekend

In response to the economic hardship in the arts caused by COVID, we have increased support for emerging artists through the 2020 annual Chrysalis Award. The James Renwick Alliance has granted $5,000 to the winner of the Chrysalis Awardee, three Awards of Excellence of $1000 each, five honorable mentions, and over 100 gift memberships to the Alliance for applicants.
​
The 2020 Chrysalis Awardee:
Kate Roberts

The Awards of Excellence include: 
Maxwell Mustardo 
Eliza Au
Chris M Rodgers 

The honorable mentions:
Joann Quinones
Rae Stern
Shiyuan Xu
Courtney Mattison
Yoonjee Kwak

The James Renwick Alliance supports ​the Renwick Gallery's latest exhibition Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 organized by Emily Zilber and featuring artists Lauren Fensterstock, Timothy Horn, Debora Moore, and Rowland Ricketts.

The four featured artists were selected by a panel of distinguished arts professionals, each with a wide knowledge of contemporary American Craft. The panel included Emily Zilber, independent curator and former curator of contemporary decorative arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Nora Atkinson, the Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-in-Charge for the Renwick Gallery; and Stefano Catalani, executive director of the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. ​

Two notable Washington DC-based craft organizations, the Smithsonian Women’s Committee and James Renwick Alliance, partner Oct 13 to Oct 25 to celebrate American Craft with multiple virtual events from the capital of the United States.

​The virtual Smithsonian Craft Show kicks off with a special Smithsonian Visionary Award ceremony on Oct. 13th to celebrated Seattle ceramicist Patti Warashina, whose works are in a number of museums around the world, including the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery. The celebration continues with nearly two weeks (Oct. 13–25) of online Artist Shops featuring over 100 contemporary craft artists, each with their own digital Artist Shop, where visitors can browse, seek and purchase specific treasures. A virtual craft show gala will be held Oct. 21, hosted by Washington, D.C. celebrity chef Carla Hall, with Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, as speaker.   Immediately following, an online live auction will offer bidders the opportunity to win extraordinary fine craft pieces. All the Smithsonian Craft Show events are free to attend and require pre-event registration at ​www.SmithsonianCraftShow.org

Learn about craft exhibitions happening around the world through the monthly James Renwick Alliance Newsletter. 

Craft Week Scotland, November 9 – 15
www.craftscotland.org

In the recent issue of Art Quilt Quarterly, our Director Jaimianne Jacobin wrote about the art quilts in the collection of the Renwick Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The article, titled "​Quilts and Culture: The uniquely American story of the Renwick Gallery Collection" reviews the breadth and depth of he collection, by highlighting specific works. Read the full article below. 

The Art Quilt Quarterly is a publication produced by the Studio Art Quilt Associates that features artwork and informative articles for collectors, art venues, museums, professional artists, and art enthusiasts. 

The James Renwick Alliance participated in Artomatic 2.0: A Virtual Experience with three online programs and a juried Top 10 Craft Artists in Artomatic to bring further attention to American Craft and Craft artists.

To see videos from each event, read more below.
​
​

For the first time, the James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Artist Series will have a home online thanks to funding from the Jerome A. and Deena L. Kaplan Family Foundation.

Prior to Deena's passing in May 2019, Deena and Jerry Kaplan were one of very few to be acknowledged with the JRA One-Of-A-Kind Award in 2014 "selected for their dedication and service to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Renwick Gallery, the wood art community and the Washington, D.C., area art and craft community including the James Renwick Alliance."

Today, we are pleased to honor her legacy and family with the Deena L. Kaplan Digital Craft Artist Lectures, as a meaningful way to continue their legacy and efforts in the field of American Craft and education. As a part of this grant, the James Renwick Alliance received funds to record all future Distinguished Artist Series lectures, digitize past participants, and hire a dedicated 2020 intern. 

​"Our goal in filming the DAS is that it will not only meaningfully affect the interns, but that others around the country can be impacted by the filmed lectures without being physically present at the events. Can a young female artist watching a lecture on blacksmith Elizabeth Brim be inspired to consider a male-dominated medium or inspire her to think differently about her femininity? Can a video about Tim Harding, an introverted fiber artist with minimal speaking engagements, help a young scholar trace the history of reverse applique quilting techniques to contemporary art? We believe it can" - Jaimianne Jacobin, JRA Director