MINNESOTA CRAFTS COUNCIL:

The Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) was a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis aimed at promoting public awareness of fine arts and crafts and providing artists a communications network for professional services and benefits.

The MCC started in the 1950s, was dormant for a few years in the 1960s and 1970s, became incorporated in 1974, and closed in December 2006. In 1979 the MCC opened permanent offices in the Hennepin Center for the Arts in downtown Minneapolis.

The MCC published a quarterly newspaper, Craft Connection, starting in 1975. It contained artist interviews, exhibit reviews, grant information, calendar listings of events, and general news. The publication reached around 1,000 readers in about 29 states nationwide.

The MCC organized many exhibits, workshops, seminars, and other events to help achieve its goals. Two major annual events organized by the MCC were the Minnesota Crafts Festival (MCF) and the Fiber/Metal Arts Show (F/M), a juried exhibit and sale of fine crafts. The Fiber/Metal Arts Show was an expansion of Fibers Minnesota which ran from 1975-1980.

The Minnesota Crafts Festival began in 1973 as the Smith Park (later Mear's Park) Craftsmen's Festival. It featured selected artists from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other states and was usually held during the last weekend in June. Locations included the College of St. Catherine, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and the History Center in St. Paul. Inclusion in the Festival was determined through an extensive jury process.

The MCC also ran the Craft Connection Gallery from 1993-1996. Located on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, the Gallery provided members with a place to display and sell their work. Monthly openings were held to promote individual artists and often included award winners from the Minnesota Crafts Festival or the Fiber/Metal Arts Show.

Membership in MCC was open but geared toward professional crafting artists in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

Return to top

Administrative records include constitution and by-laws, historical and background information, board and annual meeting minutes and agendas, financial papers, grants and related papers, and project files related to various events, workshops, and exhibits. Also included are materials relating to Minnesota State Arts Board annual grants, which provided MCC with operational support. Membership records include directories, listings, activities, applications, and other materials.

Examples of records related to providing a communications network for artists are also included: the Minnesota Visual Artists Directory (1987), the Minnesota Sourcebook project (1982), and a slide registry (1987). The slide registry contains artist statements, biographies, and resumes.

Craft Connection Gallery (CCG) records consist of business records and member artist files. The artist files contain inventories and statements of sales, biographies, resumes, and artist statements. Also included are log books (1994-1995) that describe daily gallery activities and events.

Festival and Show records consist primarily of Fiber/Metal Arts Show and Minnesota Crafts Festival materials. They include show committee minutes, booth and exhibitor information, artist applications, statements, and biographies, general administrative information, financial records, and budget statements. Also included are site maps, volunteer information, evaluations, food vendor information, jury information, sponsorship information, records related to award winners, and other materials.

Brochures, pamphlets, fliers, and other similar promotional material from both the Fiber/Metal Arts Show, the Minnesota Crafts Festival, and other events (workshops, exhibits) provide good examples of MCC's marketing efforts and communication network.

The photographs are of artists and their work, artists at work, MCC offices, meetings, board members, and miscellaneous (both identified and unidentified) views. Photographs of the Minnesota Crafts Festival and Fiber/Metal Arts Show are included. Some of the photographs were probably used in publications of the MCC and are in both black and white and color, and various sizes.

Return to top

These documents are organized into the following sections:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota Crafts Council Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 16,191; 16,516; 16,597

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Processed by: Alex Kent, February-March 2010; Shelby Edwards, August 2011.

Catalog ID number: 007062116

Return to top

Return to top

Business records of the gallery where members of the Minnesota Crafts Council and award winners could exclusively show their work. The gallery opened in 1993 and closed on December 24, 1996.

Return to top

Primarily records of the Fiber/Metal Arts Show and the Minnesota Crafts Festival but also includes advertising, promotional materials, clippings, photographic transparencies, and other materials related to MCC activities and events, such as the Art-e-fakt silent auction.

The records of the Fiber/Metal Arts Show, a juried exhibit and sale of "contemporary and traditional fiber and metal arts," include publicity and promotional materials, clippings, exhibit committee files, artist applications, evaluations, sponsorship information, jury information, and artist statements and biographies. Also included are Coordinator's Books (dismantled three ring binders) that contain general administrative information and form letters, procedures, sample show passes, promotional material, and award winner information.

The Fiber/Metal Art Show changed its name to Twin Cities Fine Craft Market circa 2002-2003. The Fall Show incorporated the Fiber/Metal Arts show and included clay, glass and wood in addition to the fiber and metal mediums.

Minnesota Crafts Festival records include committee minutes, press releases, site maps, registration forms, auction materials (Art-E-fakt), artist applications, marketing material, budgets, planning material, site maps, food vendor information, evaluations, sponsorship information, entertainment related papers, jury related information and papers, and Coordinator's Books.

Coordinator's books are dismantled binders that consist of administrative information, form letters, artist information, award information, publicity information, volunteer information, and other material regarding coordination of the Minnesota Crafts Festival.

Return to top

Return to top

Newsletters, other publications, and printed items produced by the Minnesota Crafts Council are available in the Minnesota Historical Society's library. The Craft Connection quarterly newspaper can be found on microfilm in the Minnesota Historical Society's library.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Art objects.

Art -- Minnesota.

Art galleries, Commercial -- Minnesota.

Art metal-work -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Blown glass -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Ceramics -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Fiberwork -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Handicraft -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Jewelry -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Textile crafts -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Textile design -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Woodwork -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Organizations:

McKnight Foundation.

Minnesota State Arts Board.

Meetings:

Fiber Metal Arts Show.

Minnesota Crafts Festival.

Places:

Minneapolis (Minn.)

Document Types:

Photographs.

Color slides.

Return to top