From the hundreds of students sweating through the arts program at Virginia Commonwealth University to the range of galleries and supplies stores lining the streets to the elaborate tattooed images on local skin, Richmond is an artsy town. Knowing this, one of the city’s most recognized art events is taking place. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its 46th annual Craft & Design show at the Science Museum of Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 21. With the intent to encourage local appreciation of craft art, this benefit will showcase 70 of the country’s most prestigious artists. By selling their work to the public, the event also opens up a physical line of communication between artist and audience, unlike the all-too-common email and phone relationship of most art sales today.
From the hundreds of students sweating through the arts program at Virginia Commonwealth University to the range of galleries and supplies stores lining the streets to the elaborate tattooed images on local skin, Richmond is an artsy town. Knowing this, one of the city’s most recognized art events is taking place. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host its 46th annual Craft & Design show at the Science Museum of Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 20 and Sunday, Nov. 21. With the intent to encourage local appreciation of craft art, this benefit will showcase 70 of the country’s most prestigious artists. By selling their work to the public, the event also opens up a physical line of communication between artist and audience, unlike the all-too-common email and phone relationship of most art sales today.
Karen Miller, special events and volunteer coordinator for the VACR, says the most common fear for attendees come from looking at the most expensive works. But after her six years producing the show, Miller says the “artists are there to sell” and the wide range of price points can meet everyone’s needs. Last year, in fact, she was able to walk home with a beautiful pair of handmade earrings for only $40. “I always tell people, it’s always been the broad spectrum of price points as well. Not everyone can afford a $2,000 glass vase,” Miller said. “There’s definitely stuff that’s kind of intimidating, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God that belongs in the Smithsonian!’ And some of these artists do have their stuff in big muckety-muck museums. But a lot of the art is still nevertheless very approachable.”
Based on the history, the Craft & Design show always intended to be beneficial for both artists and potential buyers. The Visual Arts Center, then known as the Hand Workshop, opened in 1963, founded by Elisabeth Scott Bocock. She used her own wealth to create a non-profit facility in order to provide art to children that could not afford it. With no compensation to offer the artists that helped her start up and teach there, she developed the Craft & Design show as payment. In this way, artists were able to share and sell their work to a wide audience. Similarly, attendees were able to not only walk away with beautiful pieces of craft, but to discuss the ideas and motivations behind them with the creators.
This history has made an equally long-lasting impact on the annual traditions of some Richmonders. For Maggie Smith, exhibition manager for Quirk Gallery on downtown’s Broad Street, the show has been a must-see for many years. “I think it’s great. It’s something I’ve always gone to and looked forward to every year,” Smith said. “I went with my mom as a kid and I go now with her as an adult.” To add to the reasons for her excitement, Quirk Gallery also began a partnership with the VACR last year. In addition to participating in the actual show, they now have a fundraiser, raffling off donated works of art for the show, called “Take a Chance on Me.” This year, Quirk will showcase the work of 11 artists at their booth.
It is relationships like this that show the growth of the event, keeping up with the ever-changing development of craft art. The size and space of the show, specifically, are recent changes that have given the VACR significant recognition in the art world. The Craft & Design show, which used to be almost 180 booths at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, is now presented in the Science Museum of Virginia, with a more selective group of artists. Nancy Tait, media contact for the SMV, says the new location fits perfectly. “It’s a beautiful show and a beautiful museum,” she said.
Miller agrees the change of venue was a necessary, particularly due to the VACR’s continuous efforts to have the show be a more refined and polished presentation of craft work. “We are the only show of any sort of caliber, reputation, history, in the entire country that made the conscious decision, in 2007, to be smaller, more edited, and higher quality. [We] kind of rebranded the show,” Miller said.
And these changes have made all the difference. Before 2007, the Hand Workshop worked out of a variety of locations, starting on N. 24th Street in Historic Church Hill. It was not until 1985 that the organization settled in at 1812 W. Main Street, which used to be the old Virginia Dairy Company. With help from fundraising opportunities like this show, the Hand Workshop was finally able to purchase the building in 2002 and begin a major two-part renovation. Completed in 2007, the building now boasts an additional 8,000 square feet of space, including new teaching studios, a photographic darkroom, the digital lab, administrative and reception space, a new gallery, more teaching studios and a landscaped courtyard.
“The organization and the show go hand in hand. It’s not just a fundraiser for us. It’s really part of our legacy. It’s part of who we are as an organization. It’s part of our mission, which is to bring fine craft to the area,” Miller said. “It’s the one thing that we do that can accommodate thousands of people, that we’ve been doing for a long period of time, that gets people all pumped up and excited.”
And there’s reason to be. The participants at the Craft & Design show are what Miller calls the “rock stars” of the craft world. They produce some of the most beautiful, one-of-a-kind work out there. The selection of artists is based on a judging process where they apply online and, by way of a blind scoring system from a six-person jury, are selected to showcase based on their work. The VACR also tries to make sure the artists are representative of the classes the center instructs. Attendees are encouraged to register for classes relating to the craft work presented, such as ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry and wood.
Financially, an event like this helps better provide for these classes and the influx of students coming through the VACR. Being a non-profit, the fees for classes do not typically cover the cost of the supplies and equipment used. But with a determinative focus on benefiting the community, the VACR continues to offer a multitude of programs for adults and kids. One of the most well-known and utilized ways they give back is simply by encouraging participants in their volunteer program. With over 100 total volunteers, the center still manages to offer compensation by giving free class hours in relation to number of hours put in.
With the array of classes and programs that the VACR has to offer, the center reflects the creativity of the city. Events like Craft & Design are indicators of the progress made over such a long history in Richmond. And according to Smith, the craft world will continue to develop and attract people from all over to enjoy unique forms of art. “The craft world is changing rapidly with the younger generation coming in. They’re using traditional craft methods with nontraditional materials. It’s exciting to see that.”
