​The James Renwick Alliance for Craft (JRACraft) is thrilled to announce the honorees for its annual Spring Craft Weekend, a premier event celebrating the innovation and legacy of American craft. Taking place over three days, April 25–27, 2025, in Washington, D.C., the weekend will feature four exciting events uniting patrons, artists, educators, and scholars to honor the field’s most distinguished contributors.

Since 1997, JRACraft has celebrated the Masters of the Medium and other leaders in the craft world. This year’s honorees have made significant, lasting contributions to their respective fields.

​Michael Lucero
For 45 years, Michael Lucero has been creating dynamic, surrealist works that comment on the broad history of ceramics while pushing that medium beyond its perceived limitations. With a career that has redefined ceramic art, Lucero continues to inspire and provoke. He received his MFA from the University of Washington in 1978. His work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at prominent institutions such as the Museum of Arts and Design and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Lucero’s pieces are held in major collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Xenobia Bailey 
Xenobia Bailey is a cultural activist and visionary artist renowned for her kaleidoscopic crochet mandalas and hats, which draw inspiration from ancient African aesthetics and the ethos of funk.  Bailey’s practice reclaims erased cultural histories while envisioning a sustainable, nature-inspired future. Born in Seattle in 1955, she studied under legendary painter Jacob Lawrence at the University of Washington before earning her B.I.D. from Pratt Institute in New York City. Bailey’s work frequently appears in major exhibitions, from the Studio Museum in Harlem to international venues such as SITE Santa Fe and Sharjah Art Foundation. Her iconic designs have graced films, television, and public art installations, including the monumental mosaic “Funktional Vibrations” at the 34th Street/Hudson Yards subway station in New York City. Her work is held in numerous public collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Newark Museum of Art.

Norm Sartorius 
Renowned for his exquisite hand-carved spoons, Norm Sartorius has spent over 30 years transforming the humble wooden spoon into an art form. Working with rare and exceptional woods, he creates sculptural pieces that blend natural forms, abstract designs, and rich textures. Sartorius draws inspiration from spoon-making traditions across the world, as well as the inherent beauty of his materials. Each spoon he creates is a unique dialogue between the artist and the wood, celebrating the interplay of color, form, and texture. His works are housed in prestigious collections, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 

Lola Brooks
Lola Brooks is a metalsmith whose work explores the rich symbolism of jewelry as a cultural artifact. With training at Pratt Institute and SUNY New Paltz, where she studied under Jamie Bennett and Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Brooks combines traditional craft with contemporary innovation. Her pieces challenge conventional notions of value by juxtaposing stainless steel with gold, transforming sentimental motifs into profound artistic statements. Brooks has participated in numerous exhibitions, including "Sparkle Then Fade" at the Tacoma Art Museum and "Heavy Metal" at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Her work is featured in prominent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 
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Jurors Amanda Phillips, Nedra Agnew, and Jennifer Scanlan walked the show along with Award Chair Rebecca Ravenal to look for artists that showed innovation in their techniques, use of material, or approach to their work. They chose Grace Brogan, who combines traditional broom making and ceramic to create pieces which are both functional and sculptural. As part of the award, Grace will receive a $1000 cash prize from JRACraft and has automatic entry into next year's show from ACC. She was thrilled to be recognized for this award.

At first glance, Grace's quiet work seems to be the epitome of tradition  -- brooms and wood-fired clay. Two mediums as old as Craft itself. Slowly, you realize how ingeniously she has brought the two together to create something new and unexpected that still feels familiar and useful.

The jurors chose to honor Grace with an Innovation award for her approach to making which maintains a deep reverence for past methods and meaning but brings contemporary considerations to bear, modernizing the traditional to maintain relevance and connection to current culture.

Sometimes, Innovation is disruptive, kicking out the windows and knocking over the furniture. Sometimes, it slips in the door quietly and whispers “What if?”, prompting new ways of thinking about dearly held values and answers to a question you didn’t know you had.

https://gracebrogan.com/about

We Gather at the Edge, February 21 – June 9
Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC, https://americanart.si.edu

A Tale of Two Houses, August 24 – May 17, 2025
Visionary Textile Scholars and Their Archives, June 1 – April 5, 2025
Textile Museum, Washington, DC, www.museum.gwu.edu

DY Begay Tapestry: Sublime Light, September 20 – July 13
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC, https://www.americaninduan.si.edu 

Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork, March 2 – February 2026
Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC, https://asia.si.edu 

Hold On, Change is Coming, January 17 – March 1
Zenith Gallery, Washington, DC, https://www.zenithgallery.com 

Jude Griebel: Revenants, and
Teddy Osei: Duality, February 8 – March 2
Hillyer Gallery, Washington, DC, https://athillyer.org 

Hygge, February 12 – March 16
Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery, Alexandria, VA, www.torpedofactory.org

All You Need is Love, February 3 – March 2
Scope Gallery, Alexandria, VA, www.torpedofactory.org

Love’s Radiance, February 1-28
Enamelists Gallery, Alexandria, VA, www.torpedofactory.org

Lil Lovin’, February 1-28
Fire on Studio 22, Alexandria, VA, www.torpedofactory.org

Eclipse, January 16 – February 23
Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA, https://www.nvfaa.org 

Prison Reimagined, January 18 – March 12
10th Annual Glass International, November 2 – January 12
Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA, https://workhousearts.org 

Iterations by Laura Lukaszewski, January 21 – March 7
Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery, La Plata, MD https://www.csmd.edu/student-services/arts/visual-arts/index.html

Jeremy Wright, December 4 – January 8
Montpelier Art Center, Laurel, MD, https://www.pgparks.com 

Beyond Networks, Work by New Image Artists, November 4 – January 4
Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, MD, https://www.pgparks.com

Jill McCarthy Stauffer: If Saltwater Heals Wounds, and
Paul Swartwood: Gathering Perspectives, January 11 – February 16
Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD, www.glenechopark.org

2025 Invitational Show, February 2 – March 1
Waverly Street Gallery, Bethesda, MD, https://www.waverlygallery.org 

Kate Norris & Jennifer McBrien: Unraveling Narratives, December 6 – January 12
Gallery B, Bethesda, MD, Gallery B | Bethesda Urban Partnership

Kiara Rivera: Entropy, and
Ewao: Come Dance with Me, January 31 – March 2
Visarts, Rockville, MD, www.visartscenter.org

One Day You’ll See, January 31 – March 14
Baltimore Jewelry Center, Baltimore, MD, https://www.baltimorejewelrycenter.org 

Where the Wild Things Are, and
Garden Reverie, January 11 – March 8
Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD, www.baltimoreclayworks.org

Engaging the Elements, thru February 8, 2026
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, www.artbma.org

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All Hands: Crafting Connections, February 1-6 online
Surface Design Association 2025 online symposium
https://www.surfacedesign.org 


Snag @ Tucson, February 6-8
Sponsored by the Society of North American Goldsmiths
Cathedral Square Center, Tucson, AZ, https://www/snagmetalsmith.org 

American Craft Made Baltimore, February 21-23
Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD, https://www.craftcouncil.org 

Collect 2025, February 28 – March 2
Sponsored by Crafts Council UK
Somerset House, London, UK, https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk 

Prints, Patterns, and Motifs, 2025 NC Potters Conference, March 6-8
Co-sponsored by the NC Pottery Center, 
Thompson Arts & Event Hall, Seagrove, NC, https://www.ncpottersconference.org 

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