The [Untold] Story of Craft
Beginning in June 2025, Craft Contemporary will present a series of exhibitions interpreting the varied interactions between craft and the natural elements: air, water, earth, and fire. The exhibitions will highlight sustainability, accessibility, and connect visitors to the universal rhythms of the Earth. Significantly, these exhibitions will tell a new story of Craft in a contemporary world as we work together to heal global wounds through creativity and making.
Book I: On Healing
Element: Air
Exhibitions: Ether, Aromatic Mythologies curated by Saskia Wilson-Brown | the air we share The 2024-2025 CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists Exhibition | IAO Olfactory Storylab: Maker-in-Residence | M&A x Craft Contemporary Courtyard 2025: Light Gauge
Ether, Aromatic Mythologies
Maki Ueda, Olfactory Labyrinth ver. 8 – The Revival of Oikaze, 2025. Scent and solvent, glass bottle, rope, gut rope, bamboo strip, 13.12 x 13.12 x 11.48 ft. Courtesy of the artist.
Ether, Aromatic Mythologies will be Craft Contemporary’s first scent-based art exhibition that presents a selection of olfactory-centric installations. Curated by Saskia Wilson-Brown, the exhibition explores mythologies from various parts of the world in a narrative tapestry that transcends time and place.
Participating artists include Alisa Banks (USA), Andrés Cortes (USA), Cristian Marianciuc (Romania), Sarana Mehra (UK/USA), Maki Ueda (Japan), Joe Merrell (USA), Peter de Cupere (Belgium), Se Young Au (Korea/ USA), M Dougerty (USA), Regina Mamou (USA), Sean Raspet (USA), Karola Braga (Brazil), and Russell Harris (USA).
California Community Foundation | FVA 2025
Raymundo Tonatiuh Reynoso, TIRE’D, 2025. Acrylic, screen print, spray paint, toner, resin print, collage, tape, signage on wood panels (11 elements), 68 x 160 in. Courtesy of the artist.
the air we share
The 2024-2025 CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists Exhibition will feature a selection of artworks by Joseph D. Valencia spanning from performance to photography, painting, and installation by the 2024-25 cohort of artists from the California Community Foundation’s Fellowship for Visual Artists (FVA), funded generously by the J. Paul Getty Trust. The fellowship, which offers financial and professional support to mid-career artists in Los Angeles County, seeks to propel the careers of artists who have dedicated themselves to nourishing the cultural vitality of the County by providing the means to further their careers into the next stage.
Participating artists include Mercedes Dorame, Gabriela Ruiz, Raymundo Tonatiuh Reynoso, Salvador de la Torre, Bumdog Torres, Genevieve Erin O’Brien, Maria Maea, Ray Anthony Barrett, Felix Quintana, Maryrose Mendoza, and Leslie Foster.
IAO Olfactory Storylab
Image of workshop by The Institute of Art and Olfaction. Courtesy of IAO.
Craft Contemporary is pleased to announce the new Maker-in-Residence program, which is designed to provide a safe work environment for makers to experiment with and push the boundaries of contemporary craft. The Institute of Art and Olfaction, Craft Contemporary’s Maker-in-Residence, presents IAO Olfactory Storylab, an on-site experimental perfume laboratory that invites museum visitors to interact with perfumers as they explore personal and cultural narratives through scent. A curated roster of perfumers will work at the museum’s lobby every Saturday, from June 7 – September 7, 2025.
M&A x Craft Contemporary Courtyard 2025: Light Gauge
Departamento del Distrito, Light Gauge, image of model, 2024. Courtesy of Departmento del Distrito.
M&A x Craft Contemporary Courtyard 2025: Light Gauge will function as a zone of performance, encounter, and cooling, mediated by two photovoltaic space frames that levitate above the M&A x Craft Contemporary courtyard. Informed by adaptable industrial systems and network thinking, this temporary intervention will address questions surrounding energy and infrastructure in Los Angeles, exploring the policies, technologies, and architectures that enable self-determination. Light Gauge is a project by Departamento del Distrito, an international design and research practice operating between Mexico City and Houston, TX, founded by Francisco Quiñones and Nathan Friedman.
