2018 Smithsonian Craft Show Takes Place April 26–29 at the National Building Museum

The 36th annual Smithsonian Craft Show, presented by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, features 120 premier American artists whose works represent 12 types of media: basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art and wood. Serious collectors and casual visitors will find one-of-a-kind works of art in all price ranges.

For the first time, the show will highlight Asian cultural influence on American crafts. The show seeks to engage the public through educational and artistic components that complement the theme “Asian Influence/American Design.” Many of today’s top U.S. artists creating cutting-edge art are reconnecting American modernism to its roots in Asian culture.

The four-day show and sale takes place April 26–29 at the National Building Museum, which is located at 401 F St. N.W. in Washington, D.C. Admission is $20 at the door, but discounted tickets are available at https://smithsonianassociates.org/craftshow. Thursday, April 26, from 5 to
8 p.m. is “Friends Night Out” at the Craft Show. Tickets are $25 and include a signature cocktail created by a Washington mixologist. 

Admission to the Smithsonian Craft Show includes:

• Opportunities to buy unique hand-crafted products and talk with the nationally known artisans who have created them.
• Viewing of an organic pine sculpture incorporated into the fountain in the National Building Museum Atrium, created by nationally known wood sculptor Foon Sham. This gift to the show by Sham is the first time a temporary sculpture has been created for the fountain. The sculpture will be in place for the April 25 preview-night benefit party and the following four days of the show.
• Lectures and panel discussions highlighting Japanese and Chinese traditional craftsmanship and aesthetics and their influence on the creation of American fine craft. 
• Taiwanese craft demonstrations and a special exhibition of craft art supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U. S.
• A chance to participate in a raffle to win either a 14-inch glazed porcelain vessel inspired by 15th-century Chinese Jun-ware by renowned porcelain artist Cliff Lee (valued at $22,000) or a hand-crafted Pong Gaddi bucket bag of buffalo calf skin lined with goat skin (valued at $3,900). Both items—donated by Craft Show artists—are examples of the importance of Asian influence on American design.

About the Smithsonian Craft Show

The Smithsonian Craft Show is produced by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee. Since 1966, the Committee has awarded more than $12 million in competitive grants funded from proceeds of the craft shows to the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and galleries, nine research facilities, traveling exhibits and the National Zoo. For more information, visit http://www.smithsoniancraftshow.org.

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SI-238-2018