You know what they say about raising a child: it takes a village. So what does it take to create a craft artist? I’ve been thinking about that recently, as an advisor to the Spector Craft Prize – an exciting new arrival on the cultural landscape, founded by New York City philanthropists Abigail and Warren Spector. It is only the latest of several important initiatives that have appeared in recent years to provide recognition and support for craft.

Best known of these, probably, is the Loewe Craft Prize, sponsored by the Spanish luxury brand, and accompanied by an itinerant showcase that has drawn international acclaim. Here in the USA, The Museum of Arts and Design has awarded its Burke Prize since 2018, annually recognizing one outstanding craft artist, and again presenting an exhibition works by shortlisted candidates. The Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation provides support to five craft artists and curators each year, singling out those at a critical juncture in their careers. 2025 also saw the first Rabih Hage Bursary awarded in the UK, and the announcement of a new awards program from the American Craft Council.

Clearly, there’s a consensus out there, that craft is worthy of support – and maybe needs it, too. It’s not hard to see why. In a world overrun by digital technology, fast fashion, and disposable commodities, physical making at the highest level has never seemed more important, or more difficult to achieve. Whatever one thinks of Artificial Intelligence, we need to ensure that all the good old human kinds of intelligence, including that held in the hands, remains alive and well.

To be sure, there are many places in which craft thrives in the 21st century – and Design Miami is one of them. As curatorial director for the 2024 and 2025 editions of the fair, I was amazed by how much sheer artisanal excellence is present. Almost without exception, the objects on show are made by hand, with care, skill, and invention.

Craft also has many other homes today, from the luxury sector to vernacular traditions, art schools to repair shops. Even so, there is no doubt that becoming a professional craftsperson remains a huge challenge, and the first steps are the hardest. Setting up a business, establishing a coherent body of work, getting it out there, managing a workshop team: all this requires skills quite different from making itself.

It's with these thoughts in mind that the Spector Craft Prize was devised. It has a unique structure, with five Emerging Artists, living and working in the US who have maintained a studio practice for seven years or less. In addition to a $10,000 award, each of these recipients is offered professional development support for a full year, maximizing their momentum into the field. The main Spector Craft Prize winner, recognized through a major museum acquisition, will be an established American artist whose creative vision is matched by a strong commitment to mentorship. Our hope is that over time, all of those who are recognized through the program will become a supportive community in their own right – a village of a different kind.

A final, and unusual, aspect of the Spector Craft Prize is that it is itinerant. Each year it will be convened at a different leading American museum, with the award itself accompanied by a major symposium – an opportunity for thought leadership in the field. The inaugural venue for the initiative will be the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, which has itself recently committed to the collection, display and interpretation of craft through a major grant from the Windgate Foundation. It’s the perfect place to begin.

For more information on the Spector Craft Prize, including instructions for application and updates on the first symposium, to be held November 10 to 12, 2026, head to spectorcraftprize.org.