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Smithsonian
Craft Show The Smithsonian Women’s Committee was founded in 1966 by Mary Ripley, wife of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, to advance the interests of the Smithsonian Institution through fundraising activities and special projects. The committee's first fundraiser was a Holiday Dance, a successful venture held annually from 1971 through 1995. The committee's second and ultimately most important fundraiser - the Smithsonian Craft Show - made its debut in 1983 and was an instant, but surprise, success. Washingtonians were not accustomed to craft exhibitions or to collecting crafts. Susie Gray and Ginny White, the first chairs of the Craft Show, and Mrs. Ripley worked diligently to educate the public and to promote the American crafts community. Lloyd Herman, founding Director of the Renwick Gallery, and Michael Monroe, former Curator-in-Charge of the Renwick Gallery, offered advice, counsel, and encouragement. The Craft Show was profitable from the beginning, which proved to the Smithsonian Women's Committee that there was an audience for an annual show. The committee's goals then and now are to raise money for educational, outreach, and research programs within the Smithsonian Institution and, with the Craft Show, to give American craft artists a venue for their work in the nation's capital. Since its founding, the Smithsonian Women's Committee has raised over $6 million for the benefit of its parent institution.. Recent technological innovations have increased the Craft Show's breadth and efficiency. An Online Auction has transformed the Silent Auction into a nationwide opportunity to bid on and acquire fine crafts and other desirable items online as well as at the Craft Show. A revolutionary electronic jurying process, the first in use in the craft world, has made the task of viewing thousands of images and selecting 120 artists for the Show into a manageable two-day event. Over the years, the Smithsonian Craft Show has established its reputation as the nation's premier juried exhibition and sale of American crafts. Each year a new team of three expert jurors brings a fresh perspective to the Show. No artist is "invited" back, and all previous exhibitors must reapply. Each year the Show is a new, different, and always exciting presentation of excellence in American crafts. |