FRIDAY TOP 5: APRIL 17, 2020

Exploring comfort blankets during coronavirus and buying handmade online. 

1. If you need some retail therapy during your quarantine, there are many opportunities to support the craft field. The Penland School of Craft has announced that its 35th Annual Penland Benefit Auction will be online. The Jeffrey Spahn Gallery is hosting a benefit auction this June to support Cerf+ and currently seeking donations of artwork. Pewabic Pottery announced its first-ever spring Collection. Artists are selling online and galleries (including the Baltimore Jewelry Center and Duane Reed Gallery) are hosting virtual exhibitions. 

2. American University has had to cancel all of their exhibitions including Gods and Masters: Artwork Viola Frey that was organized by the Artists' Legacy Foundation but they have made the catalog available online.

3. Caroline Kipp, the curator of the Textile Museum, shared this story with us: Fiber artist Liza Lou is encouraging people to make comfort blankets during these uncertain times. She is also doing weekly artist talks on Instagram, where she talks with friends about the current situation and finding the courage to continue making in the face of unimaginable tragedy. The New York Times covered her efforts in an article Weaving a Way Out of Isolation.

4. Can you Teach Art Online? This is a question universities and nonprofits are asking all over the world. Today, the American Craft Council completed a three-part series titled Innovation in the Face of Adversity and this week they focused on this very question. Follow the American Craft Council where the will post the full video online. 
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5. Explore parts of DC you may not know online. Our friends at Cultural Tourism DC pulled together offerings and virtual tours. Check out the offerings, including the 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival: DC that usually takes place at the National Building Museum.