John & Robyn Horn Exhibition Gallery opens: Now is the Time to Understand More

Throughout this coming year, the organization Craft in America is presenting Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a nationwide Semiquincentennial initiative that showcases the importance of the handmade. Handwork 2026 is a year-long collaboration among organizations, educators, and makers celebrating the diversity and importance of craft in America. The hundreds of participating organizations range from rural initiatives to a culminating exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Each organization contributes to the initiative with its own unique voice, planning educational workshops, celebrations, or curated exhibitions. Penland School of Craft is proud to partner with Craft in America to present the exhibition, Now is the Time to Understand More. The title is taken from a Marie Curie quote, scientist and Nobel Prize honoree, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” In framing the mission of this exhibition, we acknowledge our ninety-seven year history of craft education, but are choosing this opportunity to underscore this moment in time through the lens of artists-makers. We have each been challenged to defend the relevance of craft, of making, the substance of art, and the value of persistence in using our hands to express our point of view. We have remained steadfast in our truth that the arts are essential. In our exhibitions, it is our role to present objects and create context for an audience so that they might connect and possibly understand why artists and their practices are consequential. We believe that artists are both the narrators and the canary in the coal mine for this time. The artists interpret distinct experiences and observations, providing us a vehicle with which to engage with concepts often outside our own understanding or comfort. Through the objects the artists create, they provide the catalyst for insight—their work carries intention and influence. Reception: Friday, June 19th Reception: Friday, July 31st Exhibit ends: August 29, 2026 (Community Event)