Craft in America Launches Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a Year-Long, Multi-Platform Exploration of Handmade American Artforms in Honor of America’s 250th
PHILADELPHIA, PA and LOS ANGELES, CA (November 13, 2025)
Lowell’s Boat Shop is proud to be an organization taking part in Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026. Developed in honor of America’s 250th birthday, Handwork 2026 invites Americans of all ages to celebrate the country’s shared heritage through the beauty, skill, and stories of handmade objects created by and for Americans over the last two and a half centuries. Handwork 2026 has been planned and developed by the team behind Craft in America and its Peabody Award–winning documentary series, and is the organization’s most ambitious project to date.
See Lowell’s Boat Shop’s Handwork 2026 profile here.
Craft in America was founded by Executive Director Carol Sauvion, who has spent the past 40 years building a national network of artists, museums, and educators devoted to celebrating the handmade. Sauvion recently announced that she will retire at the end of 2025 and Handwork 2026 serves as a fitting capstone to her career advancing the field of American craft. She will be succeeded by Robyn Hollingshead and Ann Ruhr Pifer, who will become Co-Executive Directors on January 1, 2026.
Handwork 2026 unfolds over the course of the next year in venues across the country and on multiple platforms, each designed to bring American craft to life for millions of people across the United States. From a four-part PBS series, a landmark publication, and events taking place across the country by over 250 regional partners, and culminating with the initiative’s core exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum (details to be announced at a later date), Handwork 2026 offers all Americans a unique insight into the lives of craft artists, the objects they make, and the impact of American craft on our nation’s history.
Carol Sauvion, Executive Director of Craft in America, said, “Craft connects us. It reminds us of who we are and what we share. Making by hand links us through creativity across generations. From the earliest artisans to today’s makers, the handmade continues to shape our American story–a legacy we honor during the nation’s Semiquincentennial.”
Handwork 2026 will bring compelling stories and underrepresented art and artists into the spotlight through the following activities:
Nationwide Exhibitions & Events
A core tenet of Handwork is its extraordinary scale of collaboration. More than 250 organizations nationwide have joined this initiative, each contributing exhibitions and events that showcase the depth and diversity of American craft. Together, these partners are amplifying the impact of craft and bringing its stories, traditions, and innovations to audiences across the country. Lowell’s Boat Shop is planning an event in 2026. Sign up for our newsletter to get the news when we set the date.
PBS Documentary Series
Four special episodes of Craft in America, the Peabody Award-winning series will air beginning this December as part of Handwork 2026. The episodes, entitled EAST, WEST, NORTH, and SOUTH, will present a rich exploration of the handmade in traditional, studio, ethnic, and contemporary processes.
The first two episodes, EAST and WEST, will broadcast nationwide on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 9/8c on PBS (check local listings). Streaming on PBS will begin on November 24. NORTH and SOUTH will air on December 18, 2026. Lowell’s Boat Shop is not covered in this series, but we hope our members and followers will keep an eye out for these important and interesting programs.
Education
With a special focus on grades K-12, education guides will take a wide look at the history, cultural traditions, and impact of craft in the United States, from Indigenous origins until today, and will include hands-on craft activities. Available beginning January 2026 on handwork2026.org, CraftInAmerica.org and through PBS LearningMedia.
Digital Content
From the team behind the Craft in America television series, the following digital initiatives are in development:
Craft250 is a robust social media campaign that will amplify Handwork 2026 in partnership with local, state and national organizations. Handwork 2026 will collaborate with craft makers, artists, museums and organizations to feature 250 posts–one for each working day of 2026–to shine a spotlight on a particular object, process, technique or tradition, sparking a conversation and creating a forum for new ideas.
Handmade America will showcase short-form videos featuring new artists and archival footage from the Craft in America PBS series to stream on YouTube, and the Handwork 2026 and Craft in America websites.
Hand in Hand, an original digital series, will explore the stories of iconic objects of American craft and how they have evolved throughout time. Through conversations with family members, mentors, and curators as well as footage of the craft process, a contemporary artist will bring an object to life for the audience. Both educational and entertaining, this digital series will use objects to investigate the history and present of American craft.
Craft Across America will present a curated collection of craft-focused films from participating organizations. Content will be free and available on the Handwork 2026 website.