Release Date: Aug. 17, 2026
Contact: Caren Burmeister
Southern Highland Craft Guild Outreach Director
(828) 298-7928 (office)
(904) 434-3985 (cell/text)
The Southern Highland Craft Guild is proud to present the Making & Thinking Conference, a diverse line-up of makers, scholars and storytellers dedicated to honoring the region’s rich cultural history and ensuring its future.
The 3rd Annual Craft Conference will take place at the Folk Art Center Auditorium from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 5 and 6, 2026. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Last year, the conference attracted roughly 200 people over the weekend, many of whom said they were eager for this year’s conference.
Designed for creators and educators who appreciate Appalachian craft, everyone is invited to actively engage in the conversations.
The diverse group of presentations range from discussions about the definition and role of folk art schools, to the revolutionary visual criticism of bell hooks and colorful stories on Appalachian craft, community, and culture.
Collectively, they “make space for us to see through our differences and find our similarities,” said conference organizer Michael Hatch, a glassblower, Guild member and the Guild’s archivist. “Some are traditional storytellers, while others share their stories through handmade objects, writing, documentary films, curated exhibitions, and songs passed down for generations. Together they provide a deeper understanding of craft as process and expand our knowledge of the Southern Appalachian region.”
Printmaker and Guild member Jessica White is also providing a limited edition of 100 custom-handmade conference programs with letterpress covers.
For a taste of past Craft Conferences, visit the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@craftguild/playlists
Location: Folk Art Center Auditorium, 382 Blue Ridge Parkway in east Asheville, NC
Admission: Free
Event Contact: Mike Hatch, 828-298-7928, mike@craftguild.org
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 5
10-10:45 a.m. – Anna Fariello: “Craft & Community: John C. Campbell Folk School, 1925 – 1945”
10:45-11:15 a.m. – Kimberly English: “The Shape of What’s Gone: Craft, Labor, and the American South”
11:15 a.m.-12 p.m. – E. Gale Greenlee and shana caldwell: “belonging to place: The Creative Community & Artistic Legacy of bell hooks.”
12-12:45 p.m. – Emerging Artist Panel: Melanie Risch, Ethan McKellar and Toryn Davis Black
1:30-2:15 p.m. – Mellanee Goodman and Anita Mechler: “Center For Craft: 20 Years of the Craft Research Fund and the Recent Acquisition of the American Craft Council Archives”
2:15-3 p.m. – Erika Diamond: “Parts of a Whole”
3-3:45 p.m. – Fredrick Murphy: “Utilizing Film to Better Understand the Historical Trauma in Communities of Color”
3:45-4:30 p.m. – Geoffrey Bowton: “Veteran Obsolete: Cast Glass Sculptures”
Sunday, Sept. 6
10-10:45 a.m. – Robert Grand: “What is a Folk School?”
10:45-11:15 a.m. – Sheila Kay Adams: “Filling Your Hands with Heritage”
11:15 a.m.- 12 p.m. – Adrian Davis: “…And Then We Spoke”
12-12:45 p.m. – Shana Condill: “The Museum of the Cherokee People: Becoming a First Voice Museum”
1:30-2:15 p.m. – Victor Lytvinenko: “Finding Your Heart: Craft as Production and Craft as Art”
2:15-3 p.m. – Artem Marshak: “Metal Work, Sculpture, and Blacksmithing”
3-4 p.m. – Ronnie Pepper: “The Kingdom of the Happy Land”
PRESENTER BIOS
Anna Fariello: Noted professor, curator and author Anna Fariello will read from her book, “Craft & Community: John C. Campbell Folk School, 1925 – 1945.” Having graduate degrees in museum studies and art history, she has curated over 40 exhibitions, presented over 100 lectures and directed over 30 federal, state and private grants. She was also named a James Renwick Fellow in American Craft at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Her 2003 textbook, “Objects & Meaning,” was one of the first to explore the history and theory behind craft practice, and her exhibition the same year, “Movers & Makers,” focused on the Appalachian Craft Revival.
Kimberly English: English, who has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explores how textiles help reveal American mythologies of labor, heritage and belonging, particularly in the South. Drawing on traditional weaving structures, English’s work reconfigures patterns through interruption and absence, using cloth as a lens to examine the relationships between land, labor and identity. With thoughtful reflection, she highlights the history of extraction, dispossession and ecological strain, challenging nostalgic narratives of “heritage” craft. English currently runs Tabby Studio, a weaving residency in Canton, NC. She has been awarded residency opportunities at the McColl Center in Charlotte, the Penland School of Craft near Spruce Pine, NC, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts near Amherst, VA.
Gale Greenlee and shana caldwell:
Greenlee and Caldwell will discuss their curatorial book project and exhibition, “belonging to place: The Creative Community & Artistic Legacy of bell hooks” on view at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University, in Boone, NC.
Greenlee, who holds a doctorate in African American literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a freelance writer/editor and an independent literary scholar whose work centers on Black girlhood, geography, nature and freedom. Born in Greensboro, NC, with roots in rural South Carolina and Western North Carolina, she was a teacher-scholar in residence at the bell hooks center at Berea College, KY. and an inaugural Craft Archival Research Fellow for the Center for Craft.
Caldwell is an Appalachian artist, educator, curator, and scholar rooted in her hometown of Boone, NC. Through her practice, she explores collaborative opportunities for the expansion of Appalachian placemaking and liberatory feminist belonging, with publications in the Appalachian Journal, Inuit Art Quarterly, and the International Journal of Education Through Art. Caldwell received two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in Appalachian studies and nonprofit administration from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC and has exhibited her work locally, nationally and internationally.
Emerging Artists Panel: Three awardees of the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s Emerging Artist Program, potter Melanie Risch, ceramicist Ethan McKellar, and woodworker Toryn Davis Black, will give short presentations on their work and experience with the program.
Mellanee Goodman: The Grant Program Manager at the Center for Craft will present the highlights of two decades of Craft Research Grant scholarship. She earned a master’s degree in Critical Craft Studies from Warren Wilson College and is the author of “In the Fray: Black Women and Craft, 1850–1910.”
Anita Mechler: An information and archival professional with 15 years of experience, Mechler is the new project manager overseeing the Center for Craft’s recently acquired American Craft Council Library and Archives Collections, the country’s second-most comprehensive archives of American craft. Mechler, a certified archivist, has a master’s in library and information science from the University of Illinois. She has also received project management training and has certifications in rare books and manuscripts as well as copyright law for archives.
Erika Diamond: Will discuss her use of unconventional materials to create textile objects that navigate human connection, safety and resilience through a queer female lens. A textile-focused artist, curator and educator, Diamond has a master’s in fine art from Virginia Commonwealth University and has exhibited nationally and abroad.
Frederick Murphy: A filmmaker, documentarian, storyteller and Mental Health Therapist will present: “Utilizing Film to Better Understand the Historical Trauma in Communities of Color.” His films provide a nuanced perspective on the struggles and triumphs of marginalized communities, shedding light on historical and contemporary issues of racial identity, social justice and cultural heritage. He launched the “History Before Us” YouTube channel in 2016.
Geoffrey Bowton: A U.S. Army Sergeant and resident artist at Penland School of Craft, Brown will discuss his work and solo exhibition, “Veteran Obsolete,” now at the John W. Bardo Fine Art and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, NC. His exhibition offers a tribute to resilience as well as a reflective space to consider the challenges and emotional burdens that many veterans experience, including depression, suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder and the difficulties of re-entering civilian life.
Robert Alan Grand: An Asheville-based editor, award-winning writer and photographer whose articles have appeared in Art in America, American Craft, Garden & Gun, and Burnaway (where he is the Carolinas’ editor-at-large), Grand examines the origins of Folk Schools and the role they play in society. The definition of Folk Art Schools remains hazy although there are more than 100 of them. While these popular schools appear in idyllic, rural locales, their approach has shifted significantly, in part through the abandonment of radical politics that originally made these institutions so influential during times of social upheaval.
Sheila Kay Adams: A seventh-generation singer, storyteller, and musician who was born and raised in Madison County, NC., she learned the art of singing ballads from local elder tradition-bearers. Adams is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award, the North Carolina Heritage Award and has been recognized as a 2026 United States Artist Fellow. She is also the author of two books, several acclaimed recordings, and the singing coach and advisor for many film projects, including “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Songcatcher.”
Adrian Davis: An emerging filmmaker who is completing his mass communications and English degree at University of North Carolina, Asheville, Davis is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and grew up in Cherokee. He will present his documentary about Cherokee life and culture and its relationship to the present through oral traditions and everyday storytelling. The film is a collage of interviews, archival footage, photographs and audiotapes of real-life activity, as well as traditions and language. Davis will also discuss the process behind the film and what the rest of his project entails. He has completed several short films, documentaries and videos and hopes to make many, many more.
Shana Bushyhead Condill: A member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Condill is the executive director of The Museum of the Cherokee People — one of the country’s oldest tribal museums — and has been involved in museum and cultural studies for over 20 years. She previously worked for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and presently serves on the North Carolina Historical Commission. Condill will explore how audience and stakeholders help shape museums and how they’re shaping the future direction of the Museum of the Cherokee People. Condill is currently pursuing a doctorate in history at George Mason University.
Victor Lytvinenko: Victor and his wife Sarah Yarborough founded Raleigh Denim in 2008. He will discuss his career of sewing selvedge denim on restored factory machines into pants, jackets, accessories and artwork. His work is worn by several artists, musicians and movie stars, including Brad Pitt.
Artem Marshak: Is a blacksmith, sculptor and metal artist whose sculpture, furniture, lighting and architectural pieces combine traditional forging techniques with contemporary design. Originally from Ukraine, he later spent nine years in Russia and now lives and works in Tennessee. His work is often selected for major international exhibitions and by private collectors, businesses and public spaces. He holds a bachelor’s in metal art from the Mykhailo Boychuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative Applied Arts and Design and teaches blacksmithing at the Virginia Institute of Blacksmithing.
Ronnie Pepper: Come hear Ronnie, a Henderson County native and librarian, tell the story of The Kingdom of the Happy Land, where a community of freed people worked, settled and eventually came to own their land bordering North and South Carolina. First written by Sadie Patton in 1957, Ronnie and the Black History Committee of Henderson County have documented much more about the story through extensive research. Ronnie holds associate degrees from A-B Tech Community College, Blue Ridge Community College, and Haywood Community College. A library assistant at the Henderson County Library, he is also on the Hendersonville Housing Authority Board and is the president of the Black History Research Committee of Henderson County, which is documenting the histories of black communities across the county.
About the Southern Highland Craft Guild
The Southern Highland Craft Guild was established in 1930 and is dedicated to promoting and preserving the traditional crafts of the Appalachian region. The Guild connects craft artists, collectors, and the public through exhibitions, educational programs, and outreach efforts that celebrate Appalachian culture. The Guild’s headquarters are the Folk Art Center in east Asheville, NC, Milepost 382 Blue Ridge Parkway.
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