American Craft Council

The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national non-profit organization that champions craft based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1943 by Aileen Osborn Webb, the council today hosts national craft shows and conferences,[1] publishes a bi-monthly magazine called American Craft [2] and a quarterly journal called American Craft Inquiry,[3] maintains an extensive awards program,[4] and is home to a comprehensive library and archives.[5]

American Craft Council
AbbreviationACC
Formation1943
FounderAileen Osborn Webb
Merger ofHandcraft Cooperative League of America and American Handcraft Council
Legal statusNon-profit educational organization
PurposeThe American Craft Council champions craft.
HeadquartersMinneapolis, Minnesota
Location
  • 1224 Marshall Street NE, Suite 200
Coordinates44°59′59.44″N 93°16′12.3″W
Websitecraftcouncil.org
Formerly called
American Craftsmen's Cooperative Council (1942–1951)
American Craftsmen’s Educational Council (1943–1955)
American Craftsmen's Council (1955–1969)
American Crafts Council (1969–1979)

History

In 1939, philanthropist and social advocate Aileen Osborn Webb formed the Handcraft Cooperative League of America, an affiliation of craft groups organized to develop markets in metropolitan areas for rural craftsmen. The same year, the American Handcraft Council was formed in Delaware by Anne Morgan, a friend and neighbor of Webb. In 1940, Webb's League opens a cooperative retail venue called America House at 7 East 54th Street in Manhattan. In 1941, they publish a first, untitled issue of what would later become the magazine Craft Horizons.[6] In 1942, Morgan's American Handcraft Council and Webb's Handcraft Cooperative League of America merged into a single organization, the American Craftsmen's Cooperative Council. In 1943, the merged organizations initiated the American Craftsmen's Educational Council, and were granted a provisional charter from the Board of Regents of the Education Department of New York.[7]

For the next decade, the Council maintained their New York retail venue, initiated exhibitions featuring practicing craft artists (including Designer Craftsmen USA, which was hosted by the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the San Francisco Museum of Art,[8]) and hosted national competitions such as "Young Americans" for craftspeople under 30. In 1955, the American Craftsmen's Education Council shortened its name to the American Craftsmen's Council with the acronym ACC.[7]

In 1956, the Council opened the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, now the Museum of Arts and Design, in a brownstone purchased by Webb at 29 West 53rd Street in New York City. The museum's inaugural exhibition Craftsmanship in a Changing World[9] featured 314 objects by 180 craftspeople from 19 states. The new building also housed the offices for Craft Horizons and the council's first formal library space. The Council launched its first national conference and began publishing a newsletter, Outlook, in 1957. In 1959, the Council divested in the retail space America House, which relocated to a brownstone purchased by Webb until closing 1971. In 1960, Craft Horizons was officially incorporated into the Council and subscribers were automatically enrolled as members. For the next decade, the council continued to host conferences, present and tour exhibitions through the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, and expand educational and awards programs.[7]

In 1966, ACC held its first regional craft fair in Stowe, Vermont, a precursor to the annual shows the Council continues to present in Baltimore, Atlanta, Saint Paul, and San Francisco.[10] In 1969, one year after celebrating its 25th anniversary, the American Craftsmen's Council changed its name to the American Crafts Council.

The 1970s brought many significant changes to ACC, including its first cohort of Fellows, elected in 1975. Over 200 craft artists, scholars, and philanthropists had been honored by 2017 through induction into the Council's College of Fellows.[11] While continuing to host shows and conferences, the Council relocated in 1978 to 22 West 55th Street and in 1979 the Museum of Contemporary Crafts reopened as the American Craft Museum at 44 West 53rd Street. The same year, Craft Horizons was renamed American Craft and founder Aileen Osborn Webb died at age 87.

Another series of relocations took place throughout the 1980s, and in 1990 the American Craft Museum became independent. At the Council's new, larger space at 72 Spring Street, the library had space to expand throughout the 1990s, taking on significant donations from the estate of glass artist Robert Sowers and from Ed Rossbach and Mildred Constantine. Efforts to develop a computer database for the library began in 1988, and the Council officially launched its website in 1999. In 2001, the library's catalog became accessible online.[7]

In the 2000s, the Council renamed and restructured its awards program and begins hosting "convenings," small-scale gatherings of key stakeholders in the field of craft meant to encourage peer-to-peer conversation. In 2010, ACC relocated from New York City to Minneapolis, Minnesota, establishing an office and library in the historic Grain Belt Brewery building at 1224 Marshall Street NE. Not long after the relocation, the Council launched a new website to include information for both American Craft magazine and the Council itself. In 2015, ACC launched several programs to highlight and serve emerging artists; Hip Pop, a shows initiative that provides a pathway for emerging artists to successfully take part in ACC shows, and Emerging Voices, an awards program that honors top emerging artist and scholars.[7]

gollark: It isn't *that* good. You need manual handling for it to make sense.
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gollark: It isn't as if you could deploy 100 times the fake news sites somehow and make the news 100 times faker.

References
  1. "craftcouncil.org/shows". Archived from the original on 2018-01-10.
  2. "American Craft Magazine". American Craft Council. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  3. "craftcouncil.org/american-craft-inquiry". Archived from the original on 2017-11-30.
  4. "ACC Awards - American Craft Council". American Craft Council. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  5. "craftcouncil.org/library". Archived from the original on 2018-09-09.
  6. "Craft Horizons, November 1941 (Volume 1, Number 1)". Archived from the original on 2017-11-30.
  7. "craftcouncil.org/about-acc/our-history". Archived from the original on 2017-07-29.
  8. "Catalog of the exhibition "Designer Craftsmen U.S.A. 1953"". Archived from the original on 2017-11-30.
  9. "digital.craftcouncil.org/digital/collection/p15785coll5/id/2614/rec/1". Archived from the original on 2017-11-30.
  10. "ACC Shows". Archived from the original on 2018-01-10.
  11. "College of Fellows". Archived from the original on 2017-08-23.
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