At our annual JRA Craft Weekend, the James Renwick Alliance launched its 50th Anniversary Acquisitions Fund, dedicated to new acquisitions in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2022.  During Craft Weekend, dozens of generous donors pledged more than $30,000 to support the fund, and the addition of new works to the Renwick Gallery's collection. 

 Discussing the new fund, J.G. Harrington, President of the Renwick Alliance, said "Supporting the growth and development of the Renwick Gallery's permanent collection has been a key goal of the Renwick Alliance since our founding.  We're looking forward to continuing that tradition through this new fund.  We're excited by this opportunity to celebrate the Renwick Gallery's 50th anniversary and help it build its collection, expanding its range and scope, adding artists who are new to the collection, artists whose work is great but has not been in the spotlight, and artists who are an important part of the future of craft." 

The Renwick Gallery has a goal of acquiring more than 100 new objects for its collection before its 50th anniversary exhibition opens in 2022.  This would mark one of the largest groups of acquisitions since the Gallery opened in 1972.

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

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