Since 1996, the Center for Craft has invested more than $8 million in grants and fellowships to expand opportunities, visibility and innovation in craft across the United States. Today, it is the national leader in advancing the artists, scholarship and ideas shaping the future of making.
The Center’s 2010 publication Makers: A History of American Studio Craft helped establish craft as a vital cultural discipline. In 2013, the organisation secured and transformed a historic downtown Asheville building into the National Craft Innovation Hub. Guided by its strategic plan Craft Matters (2023-2027), the Center champions inclusive, resilient craft communities and bold interdisciplinary approaches.
In 2025, it acquired the American Craft Council Library and Archives – one of the nation’s most significant craft collections – and is relocating it to Asheville as the cornerstone of a free community library and archives opening in 2028.