School of Art Selected as Participant for National Craft Initiative, Will Host Visiting Artist Carla Edwards

The School of Art, housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, has been selected to participate in the Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026 initiative, a national program that will support the school in bringing acclaimed artist Carla Edwards to campus. Edwards will give a visiting artist lecture at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Studio and Design Center lobby, 696 W. Praxis Ln. in Fayetteville.

Handwork is a nationwide semiquincentennial initiative highlighting the importance of the handmade items throughout American history and in contemporary life. As part of the program, Edwards will return to the university later this year for a residency, during which she will create new work using School of Art facilities. Handwork 2026 is a yearlong collaboration among organizations, educators and makers across the country to celebrate American craft and share compelling stories about artists in America.

"We are honored to be selected as a participant," said Rachel Debuque, director of the School of Art. "Support for bringing a high-profile artist like Carla Edwards to campus reflects our commitment to expanding access and advancing excellence in the arts, while creating meaningful opportunities for our students and community." Debuque noted that this work also demonstrates the collaborative nature of the School of Art, as programs in studio art and art history worked together to bring the project to life. 

The initiative is in partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum and is also supported by another School of Art partner, Windgate Foundation. It includes major institutions and organizations from across the country, including the American Museum of Ceramic Art in California, the American Folk Art Museum in New York and Arkansas-based collaborators like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The School of Art was selected and awarded funds based on the strength of its craft research, programs focused on craft in America and facilities.

"Through Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, we are able to bring globally recognized artists to Arkansas and facilitate conversations around how craft functions as a critical tool for examining labor, history and contemporary life," said Jeannie Hulen, professor of art and head of ceramics. "I am grateful that Carla will be sharing her work with us on this personal level."

Edwards is a nationally and internationally exhibited artist whose work spans sculpture, installation, performance and public art. Her lecture will offer insight into her interdisciplinary practice, which often explores material, labor and systems of meaning through a conceptual and socially engaged lens.

She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Studio Museum in Harlem; Lyles & King, New York; SHRINE, Los Angeles; FOR-SITE, San Francisco; the Louisiana State University Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Paula Cooper, New York; Nuit Blanche Toronto; Volta5 in Basel, Switzerland; and Night Gallery, Los Angeles. She has presented public sculpture at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York, and at Lighthouse Works.

She is an alumna of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and was a studio fellow in the Whitney Independent Study Program. Her work is included in numerous private collections and the public collections of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Vera Institute of Justice, Los Angeles; and JPMorgan Chase. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

The School of Art welcomes all members of the community to the lecture, which is free and open to the public. Free parking is available behind the Studio and Design Center. For more information, visit the campus calendar event.