The End of Crafts National
A few days ago I received an email from the executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, organizers of Crafts National.
Crafts National is no longer - after 40 years. I had two pieces in the final show last year which I talked about here and here.
The form email included the following comments:
After some years of doing separate fine craft and fine arts exhibitions, Crafts National and Images, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts has decided to merge the two exhibitions into one.
…
Crafts National has a long and distinguished history, so the decision to discontinue it as a separate exhibition was not an easy one. However, the considerable duplication of expense and effort required to undertake two exhibitions could not be overlooked.
…
Images will now accept works in ceramic, fiber, and paper, in addition to the traditional fine art categories of drawings, painting, mixed media, photography, printmaking, watercolor, and sculpture.
Which all sounds great. Merging the craft show with the fine art show, while possibly done for monetary reasons, seems like a step forward for fine craft.
But sadly there is also this rule:
Artists must have their primary residence in Pennsylvania, one of the adjacent states, Virginia or the District of Columbia.
So this will no longer be a national show, but a regional one.
Guess that saves me the entry and shipping fees (if I were to get in again) for 2007.
Posted by Lisa in: Art Exhibits
