The Workhouse Arts Center is a vibrant 55-acre arts campus housed in a former historic prison. We offer art classes, exhibitions, and artist studio spaces for 70+ working artists, as well as professional theater and music performances, historic tours, and seasonal family-friendly experiences. We strive to harness the power of the arts to engage, heal, and inspire communities through creativity, cultural enrichment, historic preservation, and positive social impact.

2026 commemorates the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Washington DC Corrections Office’s Lorton Correctional Complex (1910-2001). The Workhouse Arts Center is located on 55 acres of the former 3,500-acre prison and is home to the Lorton Prison Museum, dedicated to sharing the 91-years of this former Washington DC prison’s history, including events of the women’s suffrage movement.

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Join HCCC Curator + Exhibitions Director Sarah Darro for a tour of the new exhibition, Clutch City Craft, offering behind-the-scenes insight into the makers, materials, and stories shaping Houston’s vernacular—from the infrastructures beneath our feet to the technologies that carry us beyond Earth.

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Kick off Go Texan Day and rodeo season at the opening reception of Clutch City Craft, an exhibition surveying the makers and material traditions that have shaped Houston.

Come with your finest Houston western wear—boots, buckles, hats, grillz, and low riders are encouraged!—for a chance to take home prizes.

Opening reception from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, with western wear judging beginning at 7:00 PM. The evening will also feature open studios by the newest resident artists.

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For over 20 years, R & Company has championed collectible design, advancing the contemporary marketplace and growing a global collector base and clientele. Its founders, Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman, are widely recognized for identifying rising talent, deepening scholarship about collectible design, and developing new avenues for growth in the industry.

The gallery is committed to nurturing and sustaining the markets and careers of emerging and established designers, and maintaining and expanding interest in historical design. Its roster features a wide range of designers from around the globe, including Wendell Castle, Rogan Gregory, Greta Magnusson Grossman, the Haas Brothers, Serban Ionescu, Hun-Chung Lee, Joyce Lin, Roberto Lugo, Richard Marquis, Jolie Ngo, Sayar & Garibeh, Katie Stout, Joaquim Tenreiro, and Jeff Zimmerman, among others. Through its acclaimed exhibitions, publications, and fair presentations, the gallery has become a leader in the field, fostering relationships with collectors, cultural leaders, dedicated patrons, and scholars.

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‘Clutch City Craft‘ explores the craft traditions and material cultures that have made Houston a powerhouse of making.

Named after the city’s hard-won nickname, the exhibition traces a material journey from civic infrastructure and SLAB car culture to bespoke western wear, grillz, and aerospace innovation, revealing how skilled craftsmanship underpins Houston’s industrial strength, cultural identity, and extraordinary concentration of working artists.

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The human body is essential to craft. This genre of art is rooted in physical labor, tactile knowledge, and material intimacy, and the resulting pieces are often intended to protect our bodies or to assist in nourishing them.

Building on that foundation, this exhibition presents works made of wood, ceramics, glass, textiles, and sweetgrass, and foregrounds their bodily resonance in terms of method of making as well as subject matter.

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Featuring works from Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum’s permanent collection, the show highlights the breadth of materials — ceramics, fiber, wood, metal, glass and even more unconventional substances — used by contemporary American artists.

By weaving together these varied mediums, the exhibition tells an inclusive and multifaceted story of craft as an essential form of artistic expression within the broader context of American art history.

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Presented on Zoom
Sunday, February 15, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:15 PM

Join NWDC Members and other craft lovers on Sunday, February 15 at 3 PM for our next NWDC Member Artist Talk presented on Zoom. This talk is open to the public.

“Furniture is interactive and we develop a bond as we eat, sit, play, sleep, work and live with it. When a table, chair, bed or desk leaves my workshop, I hope it becomes part of your life and history through generations of use.” – Seth Rolland

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NWDC presents contemporary craft today created by members of NWDC. All members are welcome to submit work to be selected by two jurors, Ron and Vicki Piper Gerton.

It is an opportunity to celebrate excellence in craft and design, and to showcase current trends in hand craft. It promises to be a important exhibition marking today’s trends and tomorrow’s expectations.

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First Peoples Project: Art of the Native South is an exhibition and event series highlighting craft traditions that through intergenerational transmission have been a part of some Native Americans’ cultural identity, way of life, resilience and survival for more than 12,000 years.
It is in this context that we recognize how the historically important contributions of Native Americans in the field of craft inform modern practice through an exhibition, Indian Craft Market and event series.

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Students will learn how to create kolrosing on wooden signs that can be hung around their homes.

Slöjd Studio is a monthly program for young makers (grades 3–5). Participants will practice slöjd techniques and explore new tools as they continue to nurture their lifelong love of handcraft.

Although ASI educators designed this drop-off program to be a continuation of Starting with Slöjd, previous participation in that program is not a prerequisite.

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In this woodcarving class kids will focus on mastering the craft, while prioritizing safety and technique over quickly finishing a project.

Starting with Slöjd is a monthly program for early elementary students who want to start crafting! Whether it’s playing with wool, wire, paper, or more, this group will explore new tools, materials, and skills that prepare kids for a lifelong love of slöjd (handcraft).

This drop-off program is for students in grades K-2.

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Hone your skills with hand tools in the Scandinavian green woodcarving tradition while making unique handmade tableware.

Over eight sessions, Paul Linden will guide students with prior hand carving experience through the nuances of various hand tools to produce several low-relief wooden plates or trays.

Suitable for carvers ages 18+ with a strong interest in building further expertise with planes, chisels, gouges, and more. $295 ($275 ASI member) + $50 materials fee payable to instructor.

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This beginner course will introduce you to the Scandinavian-style flat plane carving tradition with a lesson on basic knife grips and carving techniques.

Come carve and paint a couple of sweet miniature wooden vegetables for imagination play, display, or even making a statement necklace.

Suitable for ages 16+ or 11–15 alongside a registered adult. $70 ($60 ASI member) + $25 materials fee payable to instructor.

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Get a taste of carving with fresh wood using traditional Scandinavian tools and techniques.

This quick intro class covers the basics of using a carving knife and working with “green” or fresh wood while making a small butter spreader.

Suitable for ages 16+, or ages 11–15 registered with an adult. $75 ($65 ASI member) + $20 materials fee payable to instructor.

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