Can Craft Save America? Virtual Program

Join the American Folk Art Museum, Angela Miller, Sunny A. Smith and Namita Gupta Wiggers for a conversation on folk art, history, and nation-building.

From weathervanes and trade signs to quilts, carvings, and painted portraiture, American folk art encompasses a wide range of handicraft practices dating back to the 17th century that symbolize ingenuity, independence, and pride, key values of American identity. The term, which emerged in the early twentieth century, has evolved over time, reflecting changes in the nation’s idealized sense of self and its aspirations for the future.

The program “Can Craft Save America?” looks closely at the intersections between the handmade and nation-building. It takes its name from Namita Gupta Wiggers’ 2021 review for the journal Metropolis, in which she noted a lack of historical and political depth in recent museum exhibitions connecting craft to national identity. At a time of institutional reckoning, when museums are increasingly called upon to advance diversity, equity, and justice, Wiggers invited us to expand our questioning of the handmade and think more critically about which objects are included, the stories they tell, and the people they represent.

On the occasion of the United States’ semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) and the exhibition Folk Nation: Crafting Patriotism in the United States, at the American Folk Art Museum, Wiggers will revisit this pressing question with Americanist and art historian Angela Miller and artist Sunny A. Smith. Together, they will trace the emergence of American folk art as both a heritage-collecting movement and an artistic category, highlighting the field’s ability to both reflect and complicate our historical understanding of the American nation.

Space is limited; advance registration is required. Please consider making a donation when you register to support ongoing virtual programming. Instructions for joining with a Zoom link and password will be provided by email upon registration confirmation under “Additional Information.”

Pictured: Uncle Sam Riding a Bicycle Whirligig, Probably New York State, 1880–1920. Paint on wood with metal, 37 x 55 1/2 x 11 in.. American Folk Art Museum Collection, Gift of Dorothea and Leo Rabkin.