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| Craft Contemporary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Craft Contemporary |
| Established | 1973 |
| Location | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Type | Museum of contemporary craft, art, and design |
| Director | N/A |
| Website | N/A |
Craft Contemporary is a museum and cultural institution in Los Angeles dedicated to contemporary craft, design, and material-based art. The institution presents exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives featuring makers, artists, curators, and scholars from diverse communities. It engages with regional, national, and international dialogues in contemporary art through rotating exhibitions, collections-based presentations, artist residencies, and partnerships.
Founded in 1973 as a response to renewed interest in craft revival movements and alternative arts spaces, the organization emerged alongside institutions such as the American Craft Council, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Penland School of Craft. Early leadership included figures connected to the Studio Craft Movement and networks of artist-educators from institutions like the Rochester Institute of Technology and Rhode Island School of Design. Over decades the institution shifted from juried craft shows and craft fairs commonly associated with the 1970s American craft movement toward curatorially driven exhibitions reflecting dialogues with contemporary art museums and university art departments such as UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and California Institute of the Arts. Collaborations and exhibitions have featured artists and makers linked to institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and regional centers like the Watts Towers Arts Center. The institution's historical trajectory intersects with statewide cultural initiatives such as the California Arts Council and Los Angeles cultural development projects connected to the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
The facility occupies a site in the Wilshire Center/Miracle Mile corridor near cultural neighbors such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Petersen Automotive Museum. Its building program includes gallery spaces, artist studios, a resource library, and a bookstore/gallery retail area modeled after spaces at institutions like the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Museum of Craft and Design. Architectural renovations have been undertaken in collaboration with local firms and preservation consultants conversant with Los Angeles adaptive reuse projects and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety guidelines. The site configuration supports exhibition installation standards used by curators from institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
The institution maintains a collection and rotates thematic, solo-artist, and group exhibitions that bridge craft and contemporary art practices. Exhibitions have showcased makers affiliated with the Fiber Arts renewal, metalsmithing traditions linked to artists who have taught at Sewell C. Biggs School, and ceramicists whose work circulates among collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum's Ceramics Galleries. Past exhibitions and loans have involved artists and makers whose careers intersect with awards and programs such as the MacArthur Fellows Program, Guggenheim Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Curatorial projects have featured collaborations with curators and institutions including the Hammer Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and university galleries at Yale University and Columbia University. The exhibition program engages with historically significant movements and figures connected to the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Bauhaus, and postwar studio craft practitioners who showed at venues like the World's Columbian Exposition and regional biennials.
Educational programming includes lectures, artist talks, workshops, and residency programs that connect practicing makers with students from local schools and universities such as UCLA, USC Roski School of Art and Design, and the Otis College of Art and Design. Youth outreach and professional development initiatives have linked the institution to community partners including the Los Angeles Unified School District, local arts nonprofits, and apprenticeship models akin to those promoted by the American Alliance of Museums. Continuing education offerings reflect practices taught at craft centers like Anderson Ranch Arts Center and Penland School of Craft, and include technical demonstrations in ceramics, fiber, glass, and metals. Public lectures and symposia have been convened with scholars from institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Pratt Institute, and The Getty Research Institute.
The organization presents public-facing events including exhibition openings, panel discussions, film screenings, and fundraising galas that draw on Los Angeles cultural circuits involving venues like the Walt Disney Concert Hall and festivals such as LA Art Show and L.A. Dance Project collaborations. Community days, family workshops, and participatory projects are programmed in partnership with neighborhood arts organizations and municipal cultural agencies including the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. Special initiatives have connected to national moments and anniversaries observed by museums such as the Smithsonian Institution and civic commemorations organized by entities like the Los Angeles County government.
Governance is overseen by a board of trustees and advisory councils composed of arts professionals, philanthropists, and civic leaders who often have affiliations with institutions like the Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and corporate partners in the Los Angeles philanthropic ecosystem. Funding streams include earned revenue from admissions and retail, philanthropic grants from foundations such as the California Community Foundation and public support mechanisms like the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. Operational partnerships and capital campaigns have engaged law firms, galleries, and donors connected to the Los Angeles Business Council and cultural funders active in Southern California.