Calling all creative entrepreneurs!
We're bringing Better Together to Charlotte, NC — and we want YOU there!
Join us September 19, 2026 (12–5pm) for a celebration of artists of color featuring:
- Pop-up markets
- Live performances
- Technical demos & workshops
This year, we're thrilled to be partnering with DUPP & SWAT and The Mint Museum to make this our best event yet!
Are you a creative entrepreneur ready to showcase and sell your work? Apply now at link in bio (or use the QR code on the flyer)
Application Deadline: June 26, 2026
Application Fee: $5.00
#BetterTogether #CraftingTheFuture #CTF #ArtistsOfColor #CharlotteNC #BlackArtists #CreativeEntrepreneurs #MintMuseum #DUPPSWAT
This past weekend, residents of Crafting the Future's LA Residency program took a trip to the Getty in Los Angeles!
The group immersed themselves in Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985, a powerful collection that traces the intersection of art, identity, and activism during one of the most transformative eras in American history.
Moments like these are exactly what the residency is about — stepping outside the studio to connect with the stories, struggles, and creativity that came before us, and letting that history shape the work we make today.
#CraftingTheFutureLA #ArtistResidency #BlackArtsMovement #GettyMuseum #LAArts
We’re excited to be hosting a series of printmaking open studios this spring at Legacy Library / Black Lantern Books as a part of our People’s Propaganda Printmaking Studio and fellowship program.
These workshops are open to the public, available at sliding scale costs, and will be facilitated by ITS-IN-SCOPE residents and fellows:
* Apr 25: Screen-Printing + Propaganda Teach-In with Marvin James
* May 9: Linocut Block Printing with Ezra
* May 23: Cyanotype with Schessa Garbutt
* Jun 6: Wheatpasting with Marvin James
Join us if you’re interested in engaging in printmaking as an archival or abolitionist tool and looking for a community to begin or expand your practice alongside!
Spring Open Studios are made possible with support from Crafting The Future.
Limited spots available ~ registration link in bio 🌀🎨
ICYMI: Our 2025 Impact Report is live — and worth the wait.
Last year, we sharpened our mission, expanded our team, and deepened our roots across scholarships, grants, networking events, and residencies — all in service of one north star: a future free from systemic barriers for artists of color.
2026 is our activation year. We’re ready and off and running!
View the report (link in bio)
Call for artist participation: National Craft Open Studios Weekend 2026!
The American Craft Council invites artists to participate in National Craft Open Studios Weekend, taking place July 18-19, 2026. This two-day, nationwide celebration invites the public into the creative spaces of craft artists across the country, offering guests a rare glimpse into the processes, tools, and inspiration that shape how handmade works are made.
Artists of all mediums, studio size, and location are encouraged to participate. Artists can register now through April 30th. Learn more and sign-up at craftcouncil.org/events/national-craft-open-studios-weekend/
We're excited to share we've refreshed our website with a new look to better reflect our mission, vision, values, and the community of artists of color we serve.
Check it out! 👀 craftingthefuture.org
Pilchuck and Crafting the Future are excited to share the recipients of the 2026 Better Together Residency!🔥🎨🎉 Please join us in congratulating:
• Trenton Quiocho
• Krist Lee
• Lucian Rambharose
• Adeye Jean-Baptiste
• Diego Loera
• Margery Cercado
Created in collaboration with Crafting the Future, the Better Together Residency is dedicated to celebrating BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) artist working in glass. Beginning on May 3, each artist will have 10 days of access to Pilchuck’s Annex Hot Shop and Cold Shop. The cohort will also include four paid assistants from the Hilltop Artists Program.
We are excited to see how this cohort will transform their craft and what creative directions they will explore during their time on campus.
Learn more about each artist by visiting pilchuck.org/programs/residencies/better-together-residency.
#pilchuckglassschool #craftingthefuture #hilltopartists #bipoc #residency
We love to see it! 🙌
CTF grant recipient and Teen Takeover instructor Norman Teague @normanteaguedesignstudios is leading an incredible project, and we're proud to amplify it.
The Anna and Frederick Douglass Pavilion is a proposed public gathering space on Chicago's South and West Sides — born from a youth-led campaign to rename Douglass Park in honor of Frederick Douglass. The pavilion will be a cultural landmark for arts programming, educational events, and community dialogue celebrating Black history, equity, and resilience.
Funds are being raised now to support the design and planning phase. Show up for one of our own and help bring this vision to life by visiting 3arts.org/projects/anna-fredrick-douglass-pavillion
#Art #supportart #artsequity #ChicagoArts
A special THANK YOU to Luke Haynes (@entropies ) and our friends of the @ologies podcast community! 🙏
Justice and equity in the arts takes a village — and we're so grateful to have you in ours.
This kind of support fuels everything we do at Crafting the Future. Thank you for believing in our mission.
#CraftingTheFuture #ArtsEquity #Ologies
Your studio. Your year. Downtown LA.
Applications are NOW OPEN for the Crafting the Future LA Residency — and we're looking for two visual artists of color ready to take their practice to the next level.
Here's what you'll get:
⦿ Free studio space for a full year in Downtown LA
⦿ Stipend support
⦿ Mentorship & peer critiques
⦿ Studio visits with curators & gallerists
⦿ All-expense-paid craft workshop intensive
This is more than studio space — it's a full year invested in YOU and your creative future.
Apply by April 5: (link in bio) and tag an artist below who you think is perfect for this opportunity
Photo: LA artist @iam.muse
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by recommitting ourselves to the work of building an equitable creative community.
Dr. King reminded us "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice"—and at Crafting the Future, we believe justice includes access to creative opportunities for all.
When Black and Brown artists are excluded from art, craft, and design, an incomplete story is being told and preserved. We're working to change that by providing scholarships, residencies, grants, and pathways that help artists of color not just enter the field, but thrive and lead within it.
What are you thinking about this MLK Jr. Day? #MLK #MLKJrDay
We're incredibly proud to share the news that Corey Pemberton, Executive Director at Crafting the Future, has been named a 2026 USA Fellow!
This prestigious fellowship recognizes 𝟓𝟎 exceptional artists and creatives across all disciplines and career stages. USA Fellows are celebrated for work that complicates histories, surfaces overlooked narratives, and challenges whose stories are preserved and shared—values at the heart of Crafting the Future.
Congratulations to all the inspiring artists in this year's cohort who are moving the culture forward!
We're grateful to United States Artists for this recognition and their commitment to durable, sustainable support for artists in All Stages, in All Ways, Always.
📸 @unitedstatesartists
#USAFellows #USAFellows2026 #CraftingTheFuture #ArtisticExcellence
