Join us in celebration of WNC Craft Futures: From Here exhibition and visit our artists in resident's open studios!Join us in celebration of the 40 WNC Craft Futures Cohort, a group of regional Western North Carolina artists impacted by Hurricane Helene, and the Center for Craft's newest exhibition showcasing their work, WNC Craft Futures: From Here. This event will include open studio visits with four Virginia A. Groot Craft Futures Residents in the Center for Craft's Ideation Lab. About WNC Craft Futures: From Here Craft artists serve a critical role in building resilient communities. They provide essential services that foster individual and collective well-being by creating opportunities for self-determination, as well as for processing joy and grief. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, craft artists are vital agents of recovery who can help renew our sense of belonging, representation, visibility, and place. WNC Craft Futures: From Here is an exhibition celebrating the work of 40 regional craft artists impacted by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Selected by a distinguished panel of experts, each artist receives a $15,000 WNC Craft Futures Cohort grant or a Virginia A. Groot Craft Futures Residency, and joins a six-month cohort experience that supports rebuilding their artistic practice and extends mutual aid through a peer-to-peer network. This exhibition provides a view into the deep well of craft skill and creativity from here while also offering a glimpse of where our community can go in the aftermath of a devastating storm. About the WNC Craft Futures Cohort In the wake of Hurrican Helene, the Center for Craft reactivated its Craft Futures Fund to support and care for the artists and community of Western North Carolina. In Phase 1, we raised and distributed $410,000 in unrestricted emergency relief grants of $500 each to 820 eligible artists. Now, as part of longer-term recovery efforts, the Center has awarded Phase 2 grants totaling $600,000 to 40 craft artists in the region. Together, the 33 recipients of the WNC Craft Futures Cohort and seven recipients of the Virginia A. Groot Craft Futures Residency have received grants of $15,000 each, and are participating in a six-month cohort experience that supports rebuilding their artistic practice and extends mutual aid through a peer-to-peer network. Thirty-three regional craft organizations also received support through the WNC Recovery Grant.