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Posts by Emma Cieslik
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The Afterlives of Buttons and the Visionary Fashion of Beau McCallToday, artist Beau McCall—dubbed “The Button Man”—has works, including durags and jackets in museum collections around the world.
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What Is Blewish Cooking? Imani Jackson Blends Black and Jewish CuisineJackson’s company, Chopped & Served, carves out space for Blewish culinary traditions and identity in an otherwise mostly white Jewish community.
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How Slavic Witches Are Reclaiming Their Culture and Native ReligionWitchcraft and Paganism existed in Slavic regions long before Christianity found a home.
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Appalachian Folk Magic: Generations of “Granny Witchcraft” and Spiritual WorkIn the Appalachian Mountains, folk magic goes by many names: root work, granny magic, kitchen witchery, Braucherei, witchcraft.
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In Altar Installations, Loni Johnson Cultivates Space for Ancestral Spiritual MemoryJohnson unpacks her spiritual lineage through works that reclaim ancestral memory, hold space for reverence, and create a uniquely Black iconography.
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Coptic Women Sing Too: The Power of Raising Coptic Orthodox Women’s VoicesWhen Mariam Youssef was told she couldn’t sing, it was in essence a mechanism of holding her cultural identity hostage.
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“Smells and Bells”: Catholic Material Religion in Twenty-First-Century AmericaWorn by lay people since the early Middle Ages, devotional scapulars carry symbols or verses that once connected the wearer to a particular monastic community.
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Fostering Partnership, Foregrounding Trust: The Craft Institution ConsortiumBetween July 20 and 22, 2021, AACI hosted the Craft Institution Consortium, where organizations discussed future collaborations with African American Makers.
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Center Hosts the Craft Institution Consortium, Third Virtual Gathering of AACIBetween July 20 and 22, 2021, the Center’s African American Craft Initiative will host the Craft Institution Consortium, gathering national craft organizations, museums, galleries, and funding organizations.
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African American Craft Organization Think Tank: Centering Black Voices within the Craft CommunityTraditionally, the work of African American makers in the American craft community has been minimized, dismissed, or ignored.
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