Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects

Ten beautifully illustrated essays tell the stories of handcrafted objects and their makers, providing inspiration and insight into Black history and craftsmanship.

Black artisans have long been central to American art and design, creating innovative and highly desired work against immense odds. Atlanta-based chairmaker and scholar Robell Awake explores the stories behind ten cornerstones of Black craft, including:

• The celebrated wooden chairs of Richard Poynor, an enslaved craftsman who began a dynasty of Tennessee chairmakers.
• The elegant wrought-iron gates of Philip Simmons, seen to this day throughout Charleston, South Carolina, whose work features motifs from the Low Country.
• The inventive assemblage art and yard shows of Joe Minter, James Hampton, Bessie Harvey, and others, who draw on African spiritual traditions to create large-scale improvisational art installations.

From the enslaved potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina, to Ann Lowe, the couture dressmaker who made Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding dress, to Gullah Geechee sweetgrass basket makers, to the celebrated quilters of Gee's Bend, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects illuminates the work of generations of Black craftspeople, foregrounding their enduring contributions to American craft.

Robell Awake is a chairmaker, teacher, and researcher based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work aims to center Black aesthetic traditions and histories through scholarship and craft. He is a recipient of the 2022 Craft Research Fund—Artist Fellowship. Awake has taught at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Penland School of Craft, and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and presented at the Furniture Society, Warren Wilson College, Berea College, and the North Bennet Street School.

Johnalynn Holland is an artist, writer, and graphic designer whose illustration clients have included The Atlantic, The Guardian, the Peacock network, and the ACLU. She is a 2023-2024 Baldwin for The Arts Literature Fellow.

Dr. Tiffany Momon is the founder and co-director of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive.