The History of the Creative Crafts Council
In 1954, when exhibitions in craft had just gained popularity in the United States, the Creative Crafts Council (CCC) began a biennial exhibition at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the National Museum of american Art). At the time, it was one of the only exhibitions representing craft artists from the DC region across a variety of mediums. Today, the CCC continues to serve this mission by working with almost a dozen guilds from the DC region.
The Fifth Biennial was listed in the "188 Annual Report Smithsonian Institution" under Special Exhibitions as follows: "September 15-October 11, 1962. Fifth Biennial Creative Crafts Exhibition, sponsored by The Kiln Club of Washington, D.C. ; Ceramic Guild of Bethesda ; Cherry Tree Textile Designers ; Clay Pigeons Ceramic Workshop ; Designers- Weavers ; and Potomac Craftsmen. The exhibit contained 215 items including ceramics, textiles, weavings, enamels, sculpture, and jewelry. An illustrated catalog was privately printed."
The Biennial Exhibition then was exhibited in different spaces in the DC region. The Seventh Creative Craft Biennial took place at Norfolk Museum VA (later re-named the Chrysler Museum in 1971) and the ninth exhibition took place at George Washington University. Today the Creative Crafts Council continues our Biennial exhibition at Strathmore Mansion, located at 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD 20852. |