Craft in America

Craft in America Craft in America is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing original handcrafted work
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05/29/2026

This is the last weekend to see “Vehicles of Expression” in person! Many viewers have delighted, reminisced, and marveled at the trajectory of the humble skateboard. See for yourself, its crude yet resourceful beginnings morphing into a both playful and elegant platform for art and performance. All bear traces of the maker's hand in some way; constructing, mending, refining, embellishing.

“Vehicles of Expression” is part of Handwork 2026 and runs through May 30, 2026 at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA.

05/26/2026

Today we honor and remember Cheyenne artist Harvey Phillip Pratt (1941–2025) — the visionary behind the National Native American Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Excerpt from the DEMOCRACY episode, now streaming on the PBS app. WETA Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026

05/22/2026

“Vehicles of Expression” ends soon! If you are in the LA area, cruise over and see this fun, mind-expanding exhibition. Be inspired by the do-or-die resourcefulness of homemade skateboards from the sport’s early days as well as the contemporary innovations, both industrial and conceptual. Some of the artists get downright philosophical, but then skateboarding and skateboard building entail that kind of open and persistent inquiry.

“Vehicles of Expression” is part of Handwork 2026 and runs through May 30, 2026 at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA.


Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 Skateboarding Hall of Fame

05/19/2026

Please join us for the opening reception of Marques Hanalei Marzan: Entwine and artist talk with Marques on Saturday, June 13, 3pm at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA. Please email [email protected] to attend in person or register to join the webinar online. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0sEIa_HaQFKR9UI8FsUqGw #/

Hawaiian fiber artist Marques Hanalei Marzan on ulana lauhala (pandanus leaf weaving) and the creativity of his ancestors. Excerpt from the WEST episode, now streaming on the PBS app. Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 PBS Hawai‘i Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Museums reminiscing on skateboards is currently in the Zeitgeist. Right here in SoCal, visitors can learn about the diff...
05/17/2026

Museums reminiscing on skateboards is currently in the Zeitgeist. Right here in SoCal, visitors can learn about the different modes of expression inherent in skate culture at both the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, and Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim.

Muzeo's exhibition "Concrete Wave: Vans at 60 and The Birth of Anaheim’s Skateboard Culture" celebrates Vans’ 60th anniversary as the gateway to exploring Anaheim’s pivotal role in skateboarding, youth culture, and creative rebellion.

Craft in America's "Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard" traces the crafting of the skateboard from its scrappy, homemade beginnings through its innovations in fabrication and sportiness, to its myriad avenues of expressive potential, performative and conceptual. One of the daring conceptual pieces even includes a pair of Vans!

“Vehicles of Expression” is part of Handwork 2026 and runs through May 30, 2026 at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA.

"Concrete Wave" runs through July 12 at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, CA.

05/13/2026

Kawika Lum-Nelmida on the art of Hawaiian feather work and the ingenuity of his ancestors. Excerpt from the WEST episode, now streaming on the PBS app.

Chasing the desire to truly surf the streets, Neil Carver began exploring new truck designs that could recreate the feel...
05/09/2026

Chasing the desire to truly surf the streets, Neil Carver began exploring new truck designs that could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. Beginning in 1996, he fabricated welded steel prototype trucks to test new geometries, improving performance with each iteration. Once the trucks were perfected and in commercial circulation, they found a dedicated user and fan in legendary skater Stacy Peralta, who painted "portraits" of the trucks. The two eventually met and formed a friendship.

Peralta's paintings, Carver's prototypes, plus his newer skateboard variations, are currently on display at the Center, along with more recent skateboard fabrication innovations by Ryan Lander of Lander LA, who makes perforated boards molded in plastic derived from recycled fishing nets.

“Vehicles of Expression” is part of Handwork 2026 and runs through May 30, 2026 at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026

05/06/2026

Colette Fu on her larger than life pop-up book, Noodle Mountain, that contemplates personal memories as well as Chinese American history. Excerpt from the EAST episode, now streaming on the PBS app. Grounds For Sculpture

05/02/2026

Skateboards in the news! Thanks to Taralynn Wagner of Spectrum News for coming out to see “Vehicles of Expression” and doing an in-depth feature highlighting the resourcefully crafted nature of the skateboard and its multitude avenues of expression, including the highly conceptual pieces by Los Angeles artist Mark X Farina using ubiquitous SoCal palm fronds.

“Vehicles of Expression” is part of Handwork 2026 and runs through May 30, 2026 at the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Spectrum News 1 SoCal Tara Lynn Wagner

We are proud to announce "Handwork: Handcrafted Objects That Made America," the official book of . Presented by Craft i...
04/30/2026

We are proud to announce "Handwork: Handcrafted Objects That Made America," the official book of .

Presented by Craft in America, this timely volume paints a compelling portrait of American culture through an extraordinary range of handmade objects. From a 19th-century Kiowa cradleboard and a silver bowl made by Paul Revere to a tin-paneled food storage unit called pie safe, these objects reflect innovation, resistance, artistry, and community — and were all crafted by hand.

Handwork will be available worldwide on July 29. Pre-order now via https://www.phaidon.com/en-us/products/handwork-handcrafted-objects-that-made-america?srsltid=AfmBOopTb3sazIuZol6aNBwuIFVVV8YEhzz3CBQh5XUZPq9CmdvNSOEz

Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 Phaidon.com

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