‘Objects and Meaning: What is Craft?’: Curator Talk with Anna Fariello

In 20th-century America, volumes were written about art with discussions of craft often an afterthought. Art history’s use of painting as a singular standard has left three-dimensional objects to adjust to a language largely written from a flattened, two-dimensional perspective. This talk examines how academic disciplines and cultural institutions have assigned meaning to expressive objects over time.

About the Curator
Anna Fariello began her career as a ceramist. She went on to receive a graduate degree in Museum Studies and Art History, placing a focus on curating collections for state universities. Following her studies, Anna became Radford University Art Museum’s founding director and chief curator. Later, she spent time as a fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and as an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech and Western Carolina University. Since then, she’s gone on to teach, write, and lecture about curation, craft, and culture, with a focus on craft in Western North Carolina. In 2016, she founded her business, Curatorial InSight, and began working as an independent curator for various organizations. She has worked closely with the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area to create the Blue Ridge Craft Trails, and she has continuously assisted with numerous projects, including the curation of the current exhibit at Mars Landing Galleries, “Returning to the Ridge: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational.”