Serious Play: Explorations in Contemporary Craft
January 16 – February 27 At the heart of craft is the act of play: testing limits, breaking rules, and finding joy in the unexpected. Whether through improvisation, accident, or deliberate experimentation, artists discover new possibilities when they let materials lead the way. The artists in this exhibition celebrate curiosity, risk, and discovery in their […]
Annotated Forms: Contemporary Craft in Conversation with the Archive
Annotated Forms: Contemporary Craft in Conversation with the Archive March 6-April 26, 2026 Archives and collections, whether housed in museums, libraries, or personal keepsakes, serve as vessels of memory and markers of cultural continuity. They are systems of preservation, but also of omission, silence, and interpretation. In craft, artists often draw upon these sources not […]
Winter Fever Trivia Fundraiser
✨ Cold weather doesn’t last — but strong communities do. ✨ Join us for an evening of fun, facts, and community spirit at our Trivia Night Fundraiser—because even after the storm, we rise together. In the wake of the recent tornado, our community has faced hard times, but with your help, better days are on […]
Better Together: Twenty Years of Teapots
Better Together: Twenty Years of Teapots August 29 – November 1, 2025 In celebration of the twentieth Craft Alliance Biennial focused on teapots, the Staenberg Gallery proudly presents Better Together: Twenty Years of Teapots. Better Together brings together a diverse range of perspectives, rituals, and practices by inviting artists from various disciplines to explore their […]
TOY: Camp Trick
TOY: Camp Trick Whitaker Foundation Artist-in-Residence Alisha N. Porter July 18 – August 24 Fruit Bowl (Detail) by Alisha N. Porter at Craft Alliance TOY: Camp Trick honors Porter’s time as an artist-in-residence at Craft Alliance and celebrates her role as both a maker and a mentor. Porter sees community education spaces as places where […]
A Quick Chat With…Alisha Porter
Alisha Porter is the 24-25 Whitaker Artist-in-Residence. Alisha is an artist and educator drawn to the transformative power of clay and the endless possibilities of mixed media and craft processes. Inspired by personal experiences of joy and trauma, she hopefully constructs surrealist worlds where the boundaries between the human and the abstract blur. Through these […]
What’s Cooking at Craft Alliance? – Making Cutting Boards
What do you get when you combine pieces of wood, glue and pressure? A cutting board!! https://youtu.be/CUOPE4K3_VkFrom teaching artist Jeff Hornung: In our Making Cutting Boards 4-week class, students learn the basics of wood joinery in order to create a series of mixed color and species cutting boards. This includes everything from wood selection and cutting […]
Gateway to the West: Tapestry Weavers West
This exhibition features high-quality small works by members of Tapestry Weavers West, in conjunction with the Midwest Weavers Conference.
Crafting Rainbow – May 2025
Background Information Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—also known as Asian Heritage Month in Canada—is celebrated in May each year to honor the achievements of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and Canadians in medicine, education, politics, entertainment, sports, and many other important fields. The month of May was chosen in the U.S. to commemorate […]
Craft Alliance in the News: May 2025
Learn a new craft or sharpen your skills at these local classes and workshops St. Louis Magazine, March 19, 2025 I took a blacksmithing class Riverbender, April 28, 2025 Fundraiser scheduled to assist Craft Alliance & the Delmar Maker District Following Storm Damage The Chris and Amy Show on KMOX, May 20, 2025 Newly built […]
A Quick Chat With…Jeff Hornung
Jeff Hornung is an accomplished woodturner and artist based in St. Louis. He teaches classes in our Wood Studio, and his work can be found in our Gallery Shop. Click on the image to hear Jeff talk about how he found woodworking and its healing power. A piece Hornung created to represent the pain of […]
Craft Conversations: April 30
Change Your View, Change the Story Bryan Knicely Executive Director “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer Change is universal—but how we perceive it is deeply personal. Sometimes it’s welcome, sometimes uncomfortable. But often, it’s transformative. When I first lived in St. Louis, I was […]
Now Hiring: Studio Coordinator
Position The Studio Coordinator is responsible for the day-to-day operations and safety of the Education Center studios (blacksmithing, clay, glass, fiber, metals, print, and wood), coordinates communications with faculty, and assists with Third Friday events, Student & Faculty Sale and exhibitions. The Studio Coordinator works with a core group of faculty members and collaborates broadly […]
Craft Pulse
Craft Pulse I shines a light on the creative energy that fuels our education programs at Craft Alliance. This exhibition celebrates our talented faculty, artists who not only teach but maintain their own creative careers. In addition to faculty work, Craft Pulse I features pieces created by students in our Crafting a Future program. These young makers have spent the year learning in our studios, developing their skills, and finding confidence through craft.
Crafting Rainbow – April 2025
Background Information “It may be hard to imagine that before 1970, a factory could spew black clouds of toxic smoke into the air or dump tons of toxic waste into a nearby stream, and that was perfectly legal. They could not be taken to court to stop it. How was that possible? Because there was […]
What’s Cooking at Craft Alliance? – Printmaking
In the Print & Paper studio, we explore both papermaking and printmaking. And sometimes, we join the craft of each to make a combined piece. In paper classes and workshops, we explore how paper pulp is made and used to create products like sheets of paper, paper pulp castings, and pulp paintings. In print classes […]
A Quick Chat With…Artist Paul Dresang
“It’s not so much what you make. It’s why you make it.” Paul Dresang is an American ceramics and glass artist and retired Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville professor. He has presented his work in countless solo and group exhibitions and is featured in many permanent collections nationally and internationally. “When first encountering Dresang’s work you immediately […]
Craft Alliance in the News: April 2025
Buzz Spector brings art & memory back to St. Louis St. Louis Jewish Light, March 25, 2025 St. Louis Business 500: Nonprofits featuring our executive director, Bryan Knicely St. Louis Magazine, February 19, 2025
Crafting Rainbow – March 2025
Background Information “In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week, urging everyone in the United States to participate. According to Carter, ‘Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America […]
A Quick Chat With…Tim Henry
Tim is our development & communications directory. He grew up in the Metro East and attended St. Louis University as an undergrad and law school student. After practicing estate law for five years, he felt called to the nonprofit world to use his knowledge and skills as a lawyer to help improve our community. Click […]