Founded in 1799, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. PEM provides thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities and sciences to celebrate the creative achievements and potential of people across time, place and culture. By connecting people through inquiry, empathy and dialogue, PEM encourages an understanding of our shared humanity and fosters a sense of belonging in a complex, ever-changing world. We build, steward and share our superlative collection, which includes African, American, Asian Export, Chinese, contemporary, Japanese, Korean, maritime, Native American, Oceanic and South Asian art, as well as architecture, fashion and textiles, photography, natural history and one of the nation’s most important museum-based collections of rare books and manuscripts. PEM offers a varied and unique visitor experience, with hands-on creativity zones, interactive opportunities and performance spaces. The museum’s campus, which offers numerous gardens and green spaces, is an accredited arboretum and features more than a dozen noted historic structures, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old Chinese home that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture in the United States.

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The only liberal arts college art museum in the Northwest, the the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University is located near the Oregon State Capitol in the heart of Salem, Oregon. The museum is a leader in the research on the art of the Northwest, with one of the most significant collections of Northwest art and a history of important publications and exhibitions. The museum’s collections reflect the rich Pacific Northwest culture and explore the history of art around the world.

In 2021, the collection of the former Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland was transferred to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. It is now part of the museum’s permanent collection.  This collection of over 1300 objects is one of the oldest craft collections in the country.

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The Huntington Beach Art Center creates opportunities for local, regional, and national artists and the community to share in a climate of experimentation, education, and experience. HBAC is a public/private partnership with the City of Huntington Beach and the Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation, a non-profit private corporation. The Art Center is operated through the City of Huntington Beach Community Services Department, Cultural Services Division.

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Visions Museum of Textile Art (VMOTA) began as Quilt San Diego, a non-profit arts organization founded in 1985 to promote contemporary quilt making as fine art. The organization’s mission was to present the prestigious, international, juried Quilt Visions biennial which was hosted at various museums in the San Diego area. In 2007, volunteers organized a community build and created our permanent location in the arts district at Liberty Station in San Diego, California.

VMOTA now features 20 exhibitions per year including online exhibitions, Member Challenges, and the Quilt Visions and Interpretations biennials. The museum also presents lectures and workshops by noted quilt and textile artists.

Visions Museum of Textile Art celebrates and advances contemporary quilting and textile art through exhibitions that explore cultural traditions, contemporary relevance, and innovative creativity. By fostering connection, dialogue, and inspiration, we empower individuals to appreciate, engage with, and contribute to the rich legacy and evolving practice of textile art, building a community that values diversity, creativity, and shared experiences.

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Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America is the leading center for Nordic culture in the United States, offering a wide range of programs that illuminate the culture and vitality of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. It is the home of the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF), an American non-profit organization offering fellowships, grants, intern/trainee sponsorship, publishing and memberships.

ASF is the organizer of “Nordic Echoes — Tradition in Contemporary Art,” the first major traveling exhibition of contemporary Nordic folk arts and cultural traditions from the Upper Midwest. On view at Scandinavia House in 2025, the exhibition will travel to the South Dakota Museum of Art in Brookings, SD (October 2025-January 2026), the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, MN (February-June 2026), and Vesterheim in Decorah, IA (October 2026-January 2027), and other locations in 2027.

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The Mint Museum welcomes all to be inspired and transformed through the power of art and creativity. Among the most significant public institutions in Charlotte, the museum holds a permanent collection of nearly 35,000 objects, one of the largest in the Southeast, spanning art, craft, and design from around the world.
Widely recognized as an invaluable cultural and educational resource, The Mint is committed not only to the growth and quality of its collections but also to nurturing appreciation of the vital role the arts play in our lives.

Each year, the museum celebrates this mission through programs and events such as the annual Potters Market, which showcases exceptional ceramic artistry and supports both artists and the community.
The next Potters Market will be held on September 27, 2025. Guided by values of inclusivity, innovation, collaboration, and empathy, the museum engages communities in lifelong relationships with art, enhancing lives and creating a more connected and welcoming world.

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At the Red Mill Museum Village, our vision is to connect current generations to the past as well as to one another. We uphold our mission of preserving, maintaining and presenting the social, agricultural, and industrial heritage of the area through hands-on experiences that turn visitors into makers. By preserving tools as living teaching objects and telling the stories of those who made, used and collected them, we highlight how creativity and skill once sustained daily life through community.

The museum’s centerpiece is the 1810 Red Mill, originally built as a woolen mill. The 12 historic buildings on our 10-acre site include limekilns, a limestone quarry, schoolhouse, log cabin, two-family Tenant House and operational blacksmith shop.

Throughout the year, the museum offers a variety of educational exhibits, and immersive programming designed to keep the enduring value of skilled handwork and shared heritage alive.

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Built around 1680, the Paul Revere House is a rare example of 17^th-century urban architecture.  One room interprets the 1680s, while three other rooms contain artifacts from Revere’s era, including select Revere family furniture. Paul Revere purchased the home in 1770 and lived here with his family when he made his famous messenger ride on the night of April 18-19, 1775.

Today the site includes a Visitor Center with exhibits highlighting Revere’s skilled craftsmanship; silver made in Revere’s shop is always on display. Regular public events feature the talents of musicians, artisans, and craftspeople who are keeping alive the traditional trades of the 18^th century.

Visit our self-guided site year-round!

Summer:

April 15 – October 31: 10:00 AM to 5:15 PM

Open daily

Winter:

November 1 – April 14: 10:00 AM to 4:15 PM

Closed on Mondays during January, February, and March

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day

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San Diego’s Mingei International Museum celebrates folk art, craft, and design from all eras and cultures of the world. The Japanese word mingei means “art of the people”  and the museum collects, conserves, and exhibits arts of daily use made by contemporary and historic designers, artists, and craftspeople, known and unknown.

Established in 1978, Mingei’s inaugural exhibition was Dolls and Folk Toys of the World. Since then, the Museum has shared over 183 exhibitions covering a diverse range of cultures, themes, and media. Recent exhibitions include Across the Spooniverse,  Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo, African by Design, and Fashioning an Icon: The Virgin of Guadalupe in Textile Design.  Upcoming exhibitions explore subjects such as mid-century modern design, Indigenous works in glass, DIY skateboard culture, sustainable fishing, feedsack quilts, Japanese shrine paintings, and global percussion.  

Mingei champions artists and craftspeople, and we envision a world where people find joy, beauty, and inspiration in our shared human creativity.

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Silver River Center for Chair Caning is the nation’s only chair caning school & museum. Operated by David Klingler and Brandy Clements (a 4th generation chair weaver), it has recently re-located to Weaverville, NC just a few miles north of Asheville. During their 15 years in the River Arts District, they wove over 10,000 chairs hand taught hundreds of sessions to aspiring weavers, furniture makers, and those who just want to save their heirloom chair.

They are considered experts in their field and ambassadors of the craft. They teach both in-person and online at the school and on YouTube, as well as on location at craft schools like Arrowmont & John C Campbell Folk School. They travel the country spreading the love of chairs across the land, speaking at museums and craft shows, teaching kids, adults, and anyone who finds themselves in their presence.

Silver River is an Official Education Center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Their new instructional book, The Woven Chair, published by Blue Hills Press is launching alongside their grand re-opening New Years 2026.

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The mission of the Metal Museum is to preserve, promote, and advance the art and craft of fine metalwork. As the only institution of its kind, the Museum leads the way in celebrating and promoting the field.

The Museum achieves its mission through four program areas: rotating exhibitions of historic and contemporary metalwork; the Permanent Collection of objects, books, folios, and archives; the Metals Studios—blacksmith shop, foundry, fine metals lab, and design lab—that provide opportunities for metalsmiths through artistic creation; and education and engagement programs for learners of all ages. This broad yet dedicated focus attracts visitors, artists, and patrons from all fifty states and around the globe. Thousands more are served during off-site programs and community events through the Mini Mobile Metal Museum.

Tremendous growth over the past decade has led the Museum to outgrow its downtown Memphis home. It is converting an award-winning mid-century building into a state-of-the-art museum and education center, with expanded studios, classrooms, galleries, and collections storage. The Metal Museum in Overton Park will welcome triple the number of annual visitors and solidify the Museum’s role as the global leader in preserving and promoting fine metalwork.

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The Craft in America Center is a small museum and library that presents artist talks, scholarly lectures, hands-on workshops and concerts in addition to regularly changing exhibitions. Our publications offer a deeper dive into the practices of select artists and topics.

The Center works in tandem with the acclaimed PBS documentary series to give voice to traditional and contemporary craft, ranging from functional to purely conceptual. Being a brick and mortar venue, the Center provides the public an opportunity for direct personal engagement with art, artists and ideas.

The Craft in America Center produces 5-8 exhibitions a year, both on site and traveling.  Exhibitions highlight the work of numerous Los Angeles craft-based artists while providing a local platform for the nation’s accomplished artists working across all craft media. For those not able to visit in-person, digitized exhibitions and recorded talks and interviews are archived online as accessible resources for all. 

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The International Quilt Museum is home to the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection, dating from the early 1600s to present and representing more than 65 countries.

Its mission is to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts.  The museum is many things to many different people: it’s a treasure trove of quilts from around the world spanning five centuries, a unique academic program and resource attracting scholars from far and wide, a connection point for quilt enthusiasts of all sorts, and a world-class museum with state-of-the-art exhibitions, digital galleries and stunning architecture.

The International Quilt Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums; it also holds memberships with the American Alliance of Museums and Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. It enjoys a partnership with the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM) and Blue Star Museums, honoring active members of our military and their families with free admission between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

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The Hunterdon Art Museum presents exhibitions of contemporary art, craft, and design in a 19th-century stone mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places. A landmark regional art center since 1953, the museum showcases works by established and emerging contemporary artists and also offers a dynamic schedule of classes and workshops for children, teens, and adults.

Our mission is to educate, challenge, and inspire community through the arts.

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