This Friday! Explore the Dynamic Landscape of Contemporary Craft

Don't miss your chance to explore what craft means to our future in an afternoon of conversation with leading contemporary craft artists. Friday, March 3, 1-5 p.m. ET

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A pink neon sign that says "This Present Moment Used to Be the Unimaginable Future."

The Future of Craft Is Now

Crafting a Better Future: The Renwick 50th Anniversary Symposium
Friday, March 3, 1–5 p.m. ET

In Person and Online
Smithsonian American Art Museum
McEvoy Auditorium
8th and G Streets, NW

Join the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a half-day symposium showcasing the dynamic landscape of American craft today. Artists Virgil Ortiz, Alicia Eggert, Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Jiha Moon, Sonya Clark, Corey Alston, Susie Ganch, Carla Hemlock, and Margarita Cabrera will discuss ways in which everyday objects can teach us lessons about who we are and the future we are creating.

Curators from SAAM's Renwick Gallery, Nora Atkinson and Mary Savig, will be joined by National Museum of American Indian curator and co-curator of This Present Moment, Anya Montiel, and American Folklife and Cultural Heritage curator and founder of the African American Craft Initiative Diana N’Diaye to lead the discussions.

Registration required for both in-person and virtual attendance.

View the Full Schedule and Register

Know Before You Go

In-Person Attendees
Registrants who arrive after a speaker has begun will be asked to wait in the lobby until there is a break to be seated with minimal disruption.

Virtual Attendees
Online participants must be subscribed to SAAM’s YouTube channel 24 hours in advance to participate in the chat and ask a question that may be answered live by the speaker during the program.

A blender made of soft brown leather and hair-like material.

This symposium is organized in conjunction with the exhibition, This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, which highlights the role that artists play in our world to spark essential conversations, stories of resilience, and methods of activism—showing us a more relational and empathetic world.

A bright yellow circle with a sculpted face at the center. Around the circle are smaller yellow circles with hand prints in them.

A light tan woven basket with a handle.

A large-scale woven tapestry.

Sculpture made of white and red trash and recycled materials. It is displayed on the floor, tethered on one end to a wall.

Black stoneware ceramic vessel with bright yellow lines decorating it.

An embroidered square tapestry with the phrases "Our Heart, Our Home, Our Soul" written on the sides.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is able to create and share digital experiences like these thanks to funding from generous supporters like you.

Thank you for ensuring that American art is available to all.

Donate to Support SAAM

Program Credit:
The Smithsonian Women's Committee Endowment provided generous funding for this program. Additional funding by Dorothy Saxe in honor of George Saxe. Media sponsorship provided by the American Craft Council.

Image Credits:
Alicia Eggert, This Present Moment, 2019-2020, neon, custom controller, steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Renwick General Acquisitions Fund, 2021.4, © 2019, Alicia Eggert

Margarita Cabrera, Brown Blender, 2011, vinyl, copper wire and thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.35.1A-D, © 2011, Margarita Cabrera

Einar De La Torre, Jamex De La Torre, Ohio Goza y Mas, 2013, blown glass, resin castings, and mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Todd Wingate and Steven Cason, courtesy of the artists and Koplin Del Rio Gallery, 2021.84

Corey Alston, From Traditional to Contemporary, 2021, sweetgrass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Carolyn L. Mazloomi, 2022.6

Sonya Clark, Monumental, 2019, woven linen with madder dye and tea stain, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women’s History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, and the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2022.13, © 2019, Sonya Y.S. Clark

Susie Ganch, Drag, 2013-2014, collected detritus and steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Robyn Kennedy, 2021.81, © 2014, Susie Ganch

Jiha Moon, Yellowave (black) 1, 2020, black stoneware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Alturas Foundation, 2021.50.2

Carla Hemlock, Our Destruction, 2019, wool stroud cloth, wool, glass beads, crystals, sequins, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.10, © 2020, Carla Goodleaf Hemlock

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