Craft in America

Cynthia Lockhart on her career as a handbag designer, teacher, and quilt artist, and the importance of collectors. Bonus video from COLLECTORS episode

Pianist Natasha Marin on living with Chicano Art. Bonus video from COLLECTORS episode

COLLECTORS reveals the essential role that craft appreciators play in the community, examining how collectors affirm and inspire the artists they support. The episode highlights collections from Chicano art to teapots to wooden spoons, looking at what drives collectors and how their support furthers artists at all stages of their careers.

SCIENCE investigates the unexpected intersection between art and the sciences, spanning technology, engineering, biology, math, and the climate emergency. Nature, space, algorithms, and more serve as inspiration for artists connecting their work to the world around them, from the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico to the computer science labs of MIT to NASA.

Learn about Lloyd Cotsen's collections, which include Chinese bronze mirrors, textiles, folk art, and Japanese baskets. Lloyd Cotsen founded the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University, which houses Cotsen’s vast collection of children’s books from around the world. Bonus video from the PLAY episode

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry on African puppets in his collection and the African inspired puppet he made. Bonus video from the PLAY episode

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry on his role as curator at the James E. Lewis Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where he invites artist Espi Frazier to show her work in the gallery. Bonus video from PLAY episode

Miniaturist Mark Murphy shows us his miniature 1/12th scale furniture made in collaboration with Annelle Ferguson, Lee-Ann Wessel, Mary Grady O'Brien, and Pat Richards. Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

International Folk Art Market CEO Melissa Mann on the market and master weaver Nelsiwe Dlamini, representing her women's collective from Eswatini, on how participating in the market has changed her life. Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Kinetic designer and puppeteer Chris Green works with Skirball Cultural Center Noah's Ark supervisors and educators, Kelsey Kato and Jacqueline Rivera, as they puppeteer a snow leopard. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Stevie Morrison, sustainability coordinator at Breck Create, on recycling plastic through their Precious Plastic program to create new materials. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Barbara Davis, Director of the Guild School, on the International Guild of Miniature Artisans. Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Artist Calder Kamin on how she discovered Austin Creative Reuse, a great resource for educators and artists. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings). Archival images courtesy of Austin Creative Reuse

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry's puppetry performance, Underground Railroad, Not a Subway. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Alexander Girard donated 100,000 objects from his and his wife Susan’s folk art collection to the Museum of International Folk Art, which became the museum’s permanent exhibition, "Multiple Visions: A Common Bond." Featured in the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Chorus performance from El Orfeon Santiago and the importance of the arts in Cuba. Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry's puppetry performance, Civil Rights Childrens Crusade. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Artist Roberto Benavidez speaks with curator and art historian Catherine Hess on creating pinatas and "piñathkos", paper paintings. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Thomas Leech, former director at the press at the Palace of the Governors, on Gustave Baumann's woodblock print titled "The Print Shop" also known as "Printing the Democrat." Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

MINIATURES explores the world of small objects and big ideas. Featuring miniaturist Mark Murphy, designer and collector Alexander Girard and the “Multiple Visions: A Common Bond” exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art, the International Folk Art Market, Cuban artist Leandro Gomez Quintero, and woodblock printmaker and marionette maker Gustave Baumann.