AFRICAN AMERICAN CRAFT HISTORY

AFRICAN AMERICAN CRAFT HISTORY
8 WEEK ONLINE ZOOM CLASS
JUNE 5 - JULY 24
WEDNESDays 6:30PM-7:30PM ET
​$170 JRACRAFT MEMBERS|$210 NON-MEMBERS

African American Craft History explores non-dominant, innovative American craft histories of the African Diaspora. Through a topical chronology (1619-present), we will learn about uninhibited skilled labor and craftsmanship under duress. Some art forms we will explore include beadwork, coiffure, metalsmithing, luthier work, woodwork, textile weaving, ceramic making, basket weaving, and indigo dyeing. Overall, we will investigate the patterns of African craft techniques in the US and identify the influence that the African Diaspora has on American Craft. ​

In addition to eight live zoom classes, you will receive extensive resources for further readings and watching if you are interested. Can't make a class? No worries, classes will be recorded and available for all class registrants.

TOPICS INCLUDE: 

• Pre-Colonial African American Craft Aesthetics
• Nineteenth Century Black Craft Schools
• Modernism & the Harlem Renaissance
• Black Arts Movement
• Black Feminist Art
• Post Modernism & Contemporary Makers

MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR: CHENOA bAKER

Chenoa Baker (she/her) is an independent curator, wordsmith, cultural strategist, and descendant of self-emancipators. She teaches a curatorial practice course at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and previously was the Associate Curator at ShowUp. In addition, she’s consulted on several exhibitions, such as Gio Swaby: Fresh Up at the Peabody Essex Museum and Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas at MFA/Boston. Her editorial work has been awarded the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art (AICA) Young Art Critics Prize in 2023, she’s an editor at Sixty Inches From Center, and her writing appears in Hyperallergic, Public Parking, Material Intelligence, and Studio Potter.

REGISTRATION OPEN NOW!