| Society of Arts and Crafts | |
| Vat Id: | (for European organizations) --> |
| Owners: | --> |
| Leader Title: | Acting Director |
| Leader Name: | Karina Burston |
| Formerly: | The Society of Arts and Crafts Boston (SACB) |
The Society of Arts and Crafts is one of America's oldest arts and craft nonprofit organization.[1] [2] The Society moved to Boston's Seaport District in 2016 after being located on Newbury Street for over 40 years.[3] The Society was incorporated by twenty-one individuals on June 28, 1897, and was then known as the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston.[4] The small group was representational of Boston's elites in the fields of teaching, art-making, architecture, and craft. The original Society began with the agreement to "develop and encourage higher artistic standards in the handcrafts."
Frederic Allen Whiting was the Director at the Society until 1912, when Humphery J. Emery took over. He would serve on the board of directors until the 1930s.[5]
The Society's mission is to support and celebrate craft makers and their creativity. Through its various programs, the organization strives to inspire the creation, assemblage, and promotion of the work of contemporary craft makers. The advancement of public appreciation of fine art has been a lifelong goal of the Society. The Society of Arts + Crafts sponsors exhibitions, the Artist Awards Programs,[6] the John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship,[7] and educational programming in order to promote the work of contemporary craft artists. Prior to moving fully online in 2020, its retail and exhibition galleries featured nearly four hundred craft artists.[8]
The following is a list of SA+C's exhibitions since 2012.[9]
| Exhibition Title | Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Order 9066, Wendy Maruyama | September 8 - November 3, 2012 | ||
| Our Cups Runneth Over | November 16, 2012- January 19, 2013 | Biennial | |
| Contemporary Folk | February 15 - April 13, 2013 | ||
| Rethinking Tradition: Portraits in Glass by Joseph Cavalieri | April 26 - July 20, 2013 | ||
| Creative Minds, Disciplined Hands: Selections from the New Hampshire Furniture Masters | August 3 - October 19, 2013 | ||
| From Minimal to Bling: Contemporary Studio Jewelry | November 1, 2013 - January 11, 2014 | Biennial | |
| Floral Fictions: Recent Work by Jessica Calderwood | January 31, 2014 - April 19, 2014 | ||
| SAC Artists Awards Exhibition | May 2 - July 19, 2014 | ||
| William Daley 14 for 7 | August 2 - October 25, 2014 | ||
| Our Cups Runneth Over: Sculptural & Functional Cups | November 8, 2014 – January 10, 2015 | Biennial | |
| Collisions & Collaborations: Kathy King, Kevin Snipes and Brian R. Jones | January 30 - April 11, 2015 | ||
| Alchimia: An Anthology | May 1 - July 11, 2015 | ||
| Stay in Touch: Seven Years of the John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship | August 1 - October 17, 2015 | ||
| From Minimal to Bling: Contemporary Studio Jewelry | November 6, 2015 - January 10, 2016 | Biennial | |
| Radius | October - November 2016 | Opening exhibition at new Seaport District location | |
| Our Cups Runneth Over | November 2016 - February 2017 | Biennial | |
| I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace Now | February - June 2017 | Traveling show in collaboration with artist Boris Bally[10] | |
| Archipomorphic: Tim Ian Mitchell | February - March 2017 | ||
| Artist Awards | June - October 2017 | Award recipients: Tanya Crane, Janice Jakielski, Julie Morringello | |
| Fantasy Architectures: Jay Rogers | October 2017 - January 2018 | ||
| From Minimal to Bling: Contemporary Studio Jewelry | November 2017 - February 2018 | ||
| All Things Considered IX: Basketry in the 21st Century | March - June 2018 | Traveling show presented by the National Basketry Organization[11] | |
| The Cover Up: Donna Rhae Marder | May - August 2018 | ||
| Infinite Vibration: Niho Kozuru | June - September 2018 | ||
| Landscapes, Crafted | August - October 2018 | ||
| Elizabeth Cohen: Life Cycle | October 2018 | ||
| Adorning Boston + Beyond: Contemporary Studio Jewelry Then + Now | November 8, 2018 - February 17, 2019 | In conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts exhibit Boston Made,[12] guest-curated by Heather White | |
| Our Cups Runneth Over | November 8, 2018 - February 17, 2019 | Biennial, guest-curated by Mary Barringer | |
| Rebecca Welz: Inner + Outer Spaces | February 2019 - March 2019 | ||
| Pulp + Process | February 21 - April 21, 2019 | Curated by Sam Aldrich, 2019 Emerging Curator | |
| Peter T. Bennett: The Lure of Aluminum | March 14 - May 5, 2019 | ||
| PRIED | April 25 - June 30, 2019 | Guest-curated by Izzy Berdan and Dave J Bermingham, co-founders of the Boston LGBTQIA Artists Alliance [13] | |
| Linda Huey: Dark Garden and other works | May 9 - July 21, 2019 |
Every year, the Society of Arts + Crafts hosts two promotional events for local and international artists, CraftBoston Spring[14] and CraftBoston Holiday. CraftBoston is a show of contemporary art, craft and design, and is well known for its advancement of both the arts and craftspeople. These events are held at popular venues and convention halls in Boston biannually.[15] [16]