The Philadelphia Museum of Art is now taking applicants for its 46th Annual Craft Show, to go back to in-person for the first time since pandemic procedures were put in place in 2020. In accordance with CDC guidelines, the show will mandate state and local health and safety guidelines. The show organizers are anticipating a three-day in-person exhibition at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in November (from the 11th to the 13th), with a Preview Party the day before the show begins. The application is available online with applicants applying before April 1, 2022 paying non-refundable fee of $50.00. which increases after April 2, 2022 to $75.00. (Disclosure: Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet editor Andrew Page will be among the jurors for this year's show.)
Established in 1977, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show is the first retail craft show organized by a volunteer committee to benefit a non-profit institution. Since its early days, a portion of the show’s proceeds has gone towards funding craft pieces for the museum’s permanent collection while some funds are allocated to education and publication projects within the museum. Selected by a competitive jury process, the show gives a platform to 195 American craft artists to display their wares and perform live demonstrations alongside international guest artists. The craft show also features the Award for the Distinguished Achievement in American Craft; the award was first established during the 1985 craft show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The show traditionally features a number of categories under which craft artists can identify themselves: basketry, ceramics, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, handmade paper, art-to-wear, and wood. New to the craft show this year is the Emerging Artists Category, wherein artists who have been working in their craft field for 6 years or less and have never exhibited at the show are invited to apply. Emerging Artists will be juried in their own category, separate from the categories mentioned above; applicants must either apply as Emerging Artists or select from one of the categories but cannot apply for both.
The jury for this year's show include Allison Barnett, co-founder and sales director of Santa Fe's, Patina Gallery; Chad Curtis, associate dean and associate professor of ceramics at Tyler in Philadelphia; Bruce Hoffman, director of Philadelphia's Gravers Lane Gallery; Andrew Page, the editor of Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly; and Sienna Patti, founder and director of Sienna Patti Contemporary in Lenox, Massachusetts.
For any questions or concerns, reach out to show manager Nancy O’Meara at nancy.omeara@philamuseum.org.