CCCD Celebrates 20th Anniversary

On August 11 from 7-10 PM, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design (CCCD) celebrates 20 years of service to emerging artists, researchers, scholars, and the public.

For the 20th Anniversary Celebration and Benefit,  "the CCCD is planning a one-of-a-kind event in celebration of the history of CCCD while embracing the cultural community and artists who make Asheville and Western North Carolina the location that it is known for today," says Stephanie Moore, Executive Director.

Gather with artists, collectors, friends, and sponsors of the arts for a memorable evening of interactive installations, great food, drinks, and live music. All 20th Anniversary ticket and patron gifts support the CCCD's 2016 activities.

The Celebration will take place at the CCCD located at 67 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville NC.

Recorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion Exhibit at The Center for Crafts and Creative Design

Now - May 21, 2016; Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM at the Center for Crafts and Creative Design, 67 Broadway Street in Asheville NC: Recorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion showcases the work of eleven artists who effortlessly integrate video into their studio practice. Others use video to document a process that is perhaps more important to them than finished, fired objects. All of these pieces have a life of their own on the Internet, where they can be shared in ways that physical objects cannot.

Cover Image: Ben Harlecourtesy of CCCD

Associated events:

February 11, 6:30 PM: Showing/Making: Curator's Talk with Garth Johnson. This 60-minute multimedia lecture by Garth Johnson explores the work of a new generation of young artists who grew up with easy access to video and social media. Recent years have seen an explosion of work that uses video to not only document process, but to show the use (and abuse) of the work and extend their studio practice. Warning: THIS LECTURE CONTAINS AN EROTIC POETRY READING that may be unsuitable for some audiences. 

April 21, 6:30 PM: Artist's Talk with Thomas Schmidt. Discussion with Recycled China co-founder Thomas Schmidt.

AAAC_logo_colorRecorded Matter: Ceramics in Motion is organized and curated by Arizona State University Art Museum Ceramics Research Center Curator, Garth Johnson. This program is funded in part by the N.C. Arts Council’s Grassroots Arts Program through the Asheville Area Arts Council. 

WIngate Fellowship Grant Artist Talks at Asheville's Center for Craft, Creativity and Design

February 26, 6 - 7:30 PM at the Center for Crafts, Creativity and Design, 67 Broadway Street in Asheville NC: Windgate Fellowship Project Grant Artist Talks with Andrea Donnelly, Aaron McIntosh, and Mark Reigelman II.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship Award in 2015, marking $1.5 million awarded to 100 emerging craft artists nationwide, CCCD expanded the program to include three $10,000 project grants awarded to previous Windgate Fellows. The 2015 Windgate Fellow Project Grant recipients are Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Aaron McIntosh (Baltimore, MD), Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY). Donnelly, McIntosh, and Reigelman will travel to Asheville, NC on February 26 to deliver a series of rapid fire artist talks and project updates, including:

Smokers - Mark A. Reigelman II, Brooklyn, NY.  Smokers looks at mysterious and commonplace symbols of the city, transforming one of New York's many steam emitting pipes with a meticulously fabricated mini cabin that rests on top.

The Crown Jewel Project - Andrea Donnelly, Richmond, VA. The Crown Jewel Project explores questions of the false dichotomy of conceptual versus functional weaving, looking at value, object, art and labor using "scarf" as conceptual canvas.

Invasive - Aaron McIntosh, Baltimore, MD. Invasive subverts the negative characterization of invasive species and uses queer kudzu as a demonstrative tool of visibility, strength, and tenacity in the face of presumed "unwantedness".

CCCD 2015/16 Craft Research Fund Grant Recipients Announced

The Craft Research Fund advances, expands and supports scholarship in United States. Each year, CCCD solicits applications from researchers, institutions, and students from around the country to be selected by a panels of experts in the field of craft scholarship.

On January 29, the 2015/16 recipients were reviewed by panelists Jenni Sorkin, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of California, Santa Barbara, Sarah Warren, Associate Professor of Art History, Purchase College, State University of New York, and Nonie Gadsden, Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  The panel selected 11 recipients and awarded a total of $95,000 in the following categories:

Exhibition Research Grants 

• Stephanie Beck Cohen, Indiana University: $8,000 
• Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia: $15,000 
• The Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY: $15,000 
• Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA: $9,500

Project Grants

• Art Jewelry Forum: $6,000 
• Noga Bernstein, Stony Brook University: $6,000 
• Hadley Jensen, Bard Graduate Center: $5,500 
• Kevin Murphy, Vanderbilt University: $6,500 
•  Kayleigh Perkov, University of California Irvine: $10,500

Graduate Research Grants

• Alessa Alexander, University of California, Santa Barbara: $10,000 
• Jacqueline Sullivan, Parsons School of Design/Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: $3,000

Visit the CCCD website for full list of project descriptions and previous grant recipients. 

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design Announces Participation in WantedDesignBrooklyn

On January 28, CCCD announced its participation in WantedDesign Brooklyn May 7-17, 2016 during NYCxDESIGN, New York City's official annual citywide celebration of design.

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design will display its recent exhibition Made in WNC, featuring work by twenty-four regional textile, ceramic, and furniture studios, at the international fair. CCCD is grateful to Explore Asheville for making the travel of this exhibition possible.

Made in WNC photo by Jennifer Cole Rodriguez courtesy CCCD

Made in WNC was organized by The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, curated by Marilyn Zapf, presented by Explore Asheville, and received support from the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design advances the understanding of craft by encouraging and supporting research, critical dialogue, and professional development in the United States. CCCD is located at 67 Broadway Street in Asheville NC.