Make 2026 the year of African American craft connection
As of 2024, the African American Craft Alliance is independently funded by members! Make a contribution to African American craft connection today. We need your help to help us raise $15,000 to grow our mission of bringing craft artisans, makers and their organizations together to encourage the vitality of African American craft, supporting efforts to document and present African American work, strengthening networks, and increasing access to opportunities and resources. These funds will contribute to:
A subscription to Mighty Networks, a dedicated space for the AACA members to connect with activity feeds, subgroups, and chat features.
An active and updated artist directory
A community weaver, who will bring folks together in collaborative discussions and a Community of Practice
A dedicated AACA bulletin organizer staff person
or, text ‘CRAFT’ to 707070The African American Craft Alliance
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The African American Craft Alliance *
● About
Formerly known as the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage's African American Craft Initiative, the newly renamed African American Craft Alliance, brings craft artisans, makers and organizations together to
encourage the vitality of African American craft,
support efforts to document and present African American work
strengthen networks, and
increase access to opportunities and resources.
The Folk Education of Association of America has partnered with the newly renamed AACA to continue this excellent mission. Dr. Diana Baird N’Diaye, PhD, Creative Director for the African American Craft Alliance will work alongside AACA members to find a permanent home for the alliance and to further its mission.
The African American Craft Alliance started with a series of foundational online convenings in 2020 and blossomed into several activities and projects based on suggestions from the community of African American makers, curators, educators, and craft entrepreneurs. One such blossoming became the Bridging and Bonding project. Below you will find the publications created as a part of the birth of the AACI/AACA through the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and soon additional events and publications that spotlight the ongoing work will also be shared.
For additional information regarding the African American Craft Alliance please contact drdiana@africanamericancraftalliance.org and sign up for the AACA Makers Bulletin.
Maker’s Bulletin
A compilation of reading recommendations, residency offerings, calls for artists, grant opportunities, public & virtual events, and more!
What We DoAfrican American Craft Initiative (2020 - 2024)
2020 AACI Program Description
Program Background and InitiativesAfrican Americans have played an important role as makers since the dawn of the American experiment. As primary makers in all areas of craft during slavery, their skills and knowledge have contributed tremendously to building this nation even though, for most, their labor and skills were not compensated. After emancipation, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, African American craft artists and artisans continued to produce, often with scant recognition of their participation or equal access to the resources of the craft establishment in the United States.
The participation of African American artists in the wider crafts community today is undercounted. The voices of individual creators have historically been hidden or muted. This is due in part to a lack of documentation of contemporary African American makers and their production. Relatively few art historians, folklorists, and other cultural documentarians have focused on African American crafts. When they have done so, attention has been typically restricted to genres such as quilts, basketry, blacksmithing, and other heritage crafts. The resulting lack of understanding of culture-based aesthetics leads to fewer opportunities and access to resources for African American makers. Because of these dynamics, opportunities to hear contemporary makers’ voices and to see the work in context have been rare.
African American Craft Summit
Analysis and recommendations from discussions with African American makersFrom October 6-8, 2020, sixty-eight craft artists, scholars, organizers, and activists gathered virtually in summit format to discuss the state of African American Craft. Participants in the Summit assessed the needs of the African American craft community, discussed practical next steps that can be taken to sustain and amplify African American crafts, and developed a list of issues to bring to the attention of partnering support organizations and stakeholders. This set of five two-hour meetings was the first major activity of the African American Craft Initiative, developed within the Cultural Industries framework of the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage with the support and participation of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
African American Craft Initiative Think Tank Report
Analysis and recommendations from discussions with African American craft organizations The African American Think Tank, taking place virtually between May 25–27, 2021, was the second in the series of three convenings organized as part of the African American Craft Initiative (AACI). The Think Tank considered ways in which African American organizations can best support makers, their communities, and each other. Given the unique ability African American organizations have to bridge the gap between African American makers and communities, and the broader craft community, participants were able to discuss the successes and challenges they face in accomplishing their missions as well as how they gather and disseminate information about the history and ongoing presence of African American craft.
African American Craft Initiative Craft Institution Consortium
Analysis and recommendations from discussions with mainstream craft sectorThe final of the three foundational convenings of the African American Craft Initiative, the Craft Institution Consortium, was a series of virtual conversations with established national and regional organizations in the craft sector regarding representation of, support for, and partnership with African American makers and maker organizations. Following a similar structure to the first two convenings, the consortium consisted of five sessions over the course of three days.