The story
Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington
The Smithsonian Craft Show is a juried fine-craft exhibition held each spring at the National Building Museum, produced by the Smithsonian Women's Committee with all proceeds benefiting Smithsonian programs and museums. A panel of experts selects exhibitors representing basketry, ceramics, decorative fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, wearable art, and wood, making it one of the country's premier showcases for hand-crafted American artisanal work.
The Smithsonian Craft Show grew out of the American studio craft movement's mid-to-late-twentieth-century push to have handmade work in materials like clay, glass, wood, and fiber recognized as fine art rather than mere craft, a distinction that shaped how the show has always structured itself around rigorous jurying rather than open-booth participation.