CraftTexas is a biennial series that provides a unique opportunity for Texas artists to have their work viewed by a nationally recognized juror and displayed in an exhibition that strives to broaden the understanding of contemporary craft.
Fall Exhibitions Reception
Friday, September 30, 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Juror Andres Payan Estrada will be present to select the Award of Merit prizes for best in show.
Juror’s Tour with Andres Payan Estrada
Saturday, October 1, 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Juror Andres Payan Estrada will discuss the works on view in the exhibition.
Raised between Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, Andres Payan Estrada currently works in Los Angeles, California. As an artist and curator, his practice focuses on issues revolving around contemporary craft and ceramics, including material and object explorations on queer and identity-based politics. Payan Estrada is currently the curator of public engagement at Craft Contemporary and recently served as a special visiting art faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts and as a mentor at Warren Wilson College’s Master of Arts in Craft Studies program. Payan Estrada is also the co-curator and co-founder of Craft Contemporary’s National Clay Biennial, as well as the founding organizer of the annual fundraiser and sale, CLAY LA. He recently curated the exhibition, Total Collapse: Clay in the Contemporary Past (2020), for the Arizona State University Museum and the Rubin Center at the University of Texas at El Paso, along with establishing POTLUCK, a biennial clay and ceramics fundraiser, auction, and free public program series that benefits Craft Contemporary.
As someone who grew up and spent a large part of my formative years in Texas, jurying this exhibition was a very special and dear appointment. With an outstanding number of applications, this also proved to be an exciting and challenging task, particularly with the task to curate a craft exhibition that would reflect or be representative of such a large and diverse state. I was quickly engrossed by the diverse practices, voices, approaches, and perspectives that the group of applications proposed, and with engaged attention and thought, began to listen to and assess the various messages that spoke loudly and intersectionally throughout the group.
What coalesced from spending time with all the entries and methodically pulling selections is a somber exhibition that addresses a history and lineage in craft thought, while at the same time challenging some of the preconceived definitions, histories, and cannons that have commonly been upheld through craft. Throughout the exhibition, one will encounter more nuanced and poetic approaches to identity politics, personal histories, and communal experiences. Upon closer inspection, one can begin to see interconnecting threads that speak to individual histories of struggle or resilience, memory and meaning embedded into materials and processes, along with trauma and joy transmitted and upheld by objects that connect us to past and contemporary histories of the communities that make up geographic and political regions.
Chinese Herbal Medicines, siding from a Vietnamese shrimper boat, fruits that are forbidden to cross into the United States, a variety of histories and stories permeate the exhibition, materializing into different forms and objects that question and highlight their often-non-objective meanings and identity or politically charged histories. Like the works made from some of these materials, many of the questions or ideas addressed by the artists in the exhibition are not easy or lightly addressed and often challenge not only our expectations of craft but at times also challenge our own experiences, and even the institutional infrastructures through which they are shown.
– Andres Payan Estrada
CraftTexas 2022 is generously funded in part by a grant from Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Olaniyi Rasheed Akindiya
Eliza Hang Yee Au
Vincent Burke
Alejandra Carrillo-Estrada
Angela Corson
Erin Cunningham
Juan Escobedo
Cynthia Evans
Karla Garcia
René Garza
Nela Garzon
Ian Gerson
Timothy Gonchoroff
Roberto Jackson Harrington
Brandon Harris
René Lee Henry
Shang-Yi Hua
Qing Liu
Sarah Nance
Guadalupe Navarro
Tiffany Angel Nesbit
Abigail Ogle
Steve Parker
Lauren Peterson
Kamila Szczesna
Chet Urban
Dongyi Wu
There is currently not an open call for artist submissions. Below are details from the 2022 application as a reference. Check back for future opportunities.
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) announces its call for artists for the upcoming exhibition, CraftTexas 2022, the eleventh show in a long-running series of juried exhibitions showcasing the finest in Texas-made contemporary craft. This year, to expand accessibility, HCCC has eliminated the application fee, so all artists working in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and found/recycled materials are encouraged to apply!
On view October 1, 2022 – January 7, 2023, the exhibition provides an introduction for the general public to develop an appreciation for the depth and breadth of craft being made in their local communities and across the state. This unique show also provides Texas artists with the opportunity to be considered for inclusion in major national museum and private collections.
CraftTexas 2022 will be juried by Andres Payan Estrada. Raised between Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, Payan Estrada currently works in Los Angeles, California. As an artist and curator, his practice focuses on issues revolving around contemporary craft and ceramics, including material and object explorations on queer and identity-based politics. Payan Estrada is currently the curator of public engagement at Craft Contemporary and recently served as a special visiting art faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts and as a mentor at Warren Wilson College’s Master of Arts in Craft Studies program. Payan Estrada is also the co-curator and co-founder of Craft Contemporary’s National Clay Biennial, as well as the founding organizer of the annual fundraiser and sale, CLAY LA. He recently curated the exhibition, Total Collapse: Clay in the Contemporary Past (2020), for the Arizona State University Museum and the Rubin Center at the University of Texas at El Paso, along with establishing POTLUCK, a biennial clay and ceramics fundraiser, auction, and free public program series that benefits Craft Contemporary.
CraftTexas 2022 is open to craft artists currently residing in Texas.
The following craft media is accepted: clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and found/recycled materials.
Each artist may submit up to three (3) original works completed within the last two (2) years.
Work must be available for the duration of the show and may not be withdrawn from the exhibition at any time prior to the closing date of January 7, 2023.
Crated work must fit through a 4′ x 8′ door, and actual work may not exceed 200 pounds in weight.
Work cannot have been exhibited at HCCC in the past.
Three (3) Award of Merit prizes of $1000 each will be selected by the juror.
All applications must be completed and submitted online via the Slideroom system at https://crafthouston.slideroom.com. There is no fee to apply.
Applications will be accepted now through April 30, 2022 (Midnight, Central Standard Time).
Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
Artist statement (maximum of 1000 characters).
Artists may enter up to three (3) pieces of work. Artists should submit only one (1) digital image per work,
for a total of up to three (3) images. All images must be in high-resolution .jpeg format meaning at least 4 x
6 inches at 300 dpi. DO NOT submit detail images.
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) announces its call for artists for the upcoming exhibition, CraftTexas 2022, the eleventh show in a long-running series of juried exhibitions showcasing the finest in Texas-made contemporary craft. This year, to expand accessibility, HCCC has eliminated the application fee, so all artists working in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and found/recycled materials are encouraged to apply!
On view October 1, 2022 – January 7, 2023, the exhibition provides an introduction for the general public to develop an appreciation for the depth and breadth of craft being made in their local communities and across the state. This unique show also provides Texas artists with the opportunity to be considered for inclusion in major national museum and private collections.
Notification of acceptance will be on or before June 3, 2022.
Accepted work must arrive to HCCC between Monday, September 12, and Friday, September 23, 2022. Please make proper arrangements for delivery or with your shipper to ensure arrival dates.
All work will be installed by professional staff and may not be shown at the discretion of HCCC’s curatorial department. Packaging and artworks must be in good condition and able to withstand the strains of transportation. Work must be properly packaged for travel; wooden crates or double-boxed cardboard containers are highly recommended.
Artists are responsible for transit and insurance of accepted work to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. HCCC will not accept COD shipments.
HCCC will provide insurance for all works while they are exhibited on site and upon their return to the artist.
HCCC reserves the right to photograph and distribute any images of work in the exhibition for educational or publicity purposes, via electronic or print media of any kind.
HCCC may use the images submitted for the jury process for educational and publicity purposes. Please ensure submitted images are professionally photographed and are print quality (minimum size of 300 dpi and 4 x 6 inches).
The Artist Residency Program is designed to offer time and space for craft artists to focus on their creative work and interact with the public. The program supports emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media, including but not limited to clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media.
The Artist Residency Program is designed to offer time and space for craft artists to focus on their creative work and interact with the public. The program supports emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media, including but not limited to clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media.
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