FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Alyssa Ruberto, Communications Coordinator
828-785-1357 x111 | press@centerforcraft.org

ASHEVILLE, NC (January 15, 2020) - The Center for Craft is thrilled to announce two inaugural awardees for the 2020 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship: BA Harrington and Cannupa Hanska Luger. This new Fellowship advances, expands, and supports the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice. “The Center for Craft is proud to fund this important and underserved area of the artist’s process,” said Stephanie Moore, the Center’s Executive Director. “As a leader in supporting craft research in the United States, the Center is excited to share with the public the innovative discoveries by artists that this new program encourages.”

The two inaugural awardees will receive $20,000 each in support of their research projects, scheduled to take place over the course of 18 months. BA Harrington will create a body of artwork developed for the project, titled Suite Américaine. Referencing historical American furniture designed and built specifically for use by women, Harrington re-interprets these objects as proto-feminist forms. During the fellowship, Harrington will conduct a first-hand study and re-experiencing of furniture as historical evidence of untold, underrepresented, and undocumented everyday stories. Aspects of public programming related to the project include presentations, performances, and hands-on workshops exploring language and embroidery. Harrington states, “The support of makers through the Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship is forward-thinking at a crucial time when the ideology of craft has the ability to promote sustainability and the building of community.”

Native contemporary artist and craftsperson of North America Cannupa Hanska Luger will re-establish a clay practice with his Mandan ancestors and reclaim ceramic traditions destroyed by colonization for his project, titled A WAY HOME. Luger seeks to further the understanding of the limitations and possibilities of creating with indigenous land through research in museum collections, on-site in North Dakota, with community, and especially with the clay itself. Of this opportunity, Luger states, "With support from the Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship, I will have the ability to spend extended periods of time on my ancestral land in North Dakota, to connect with community and the land, to hand dig clay bodies from the earth and test their material nature." The inaugural 2020 Craft Research Fund Fellows will present their new body of work in a 2021 exhibition at the Center for Craft as well as present their research methodologies and findings at the Center for Craft’s 2021 symposium.
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2020 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship Selection Committee:

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Cristina Córdova received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez and continued to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. In 2002 she entered a three-year artist residency program at Penland School of Craft, where she later served on the board of trustees from 2006 to 2010. Recognitions include a USA Artist Fellowship, an American Crafts Council Emerging Artist Grant, a North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship, a Virginia Groot Foundation Recognition Grant, and several International Association of Art Critics Awards. Her work is held in numerous museum collections, and she currently lives and works in Penland, NC.

Perry A. Price is Executive Director of the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Houston, Texas. Price received a BA in the History of Art from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies, State University of New York Oneonta and the New York State Historical Association. Prior to joining the HCCC, he previously served as director of education for the American Craft Council in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and as curator of exhibitions and collections for Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. He is a scholar of contemporary studio craft, material culture, decorative arts, and design.

Dr. Jenni Sorkin is Associate Professor of History of Art & Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She writes on the intersections between gender, material culture, and contemporary art, working primarily on women artists and underrepresented media. She is the author of Live Form: Women, Ceramics and Community (University of Chicago Press, 2016), which examines the confluence of gender, artistic labor, and the history of post-war ceramics. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Modern Craft and is the recipient of fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies (2014-15), the Center for Craft (2012), the Getty Research Institute (2010-11), and the ACLS/Luce Fellowship in American Art (2008).

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Craft Research Fund grants are administered by the Center for Craft and underwritten by the Windgate Foundation. For inquiries regarding the Craft Research Fund or other grant opportunities at the Center for Craft, contact Lola Clairmont, Craft Research & Innovation Manager, lclairmont@centerforcraft.org or visit the Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship web page.

To request additional photos pertaining to this press release, contact Alyssa Ruberto, Communications Coordinator, aruberto@centerforcraft.org

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ABOUT CENTER FOR CRAFT Founded in 1996, the Center for Craft (formerly The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design) is the leading organization in the United States identifying and convening craft makers, curators, and researchers, and matching them with resources, tools, and networks to advance their careers. Over the years, the Center has become a vital community resource, serving thousands of visitors annually. As a national 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field of craft, the Center administers more than $300,000 in grants to those working in the craft field. www.centerforcraft.org

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