Crafting the Future

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Crafting the Future

CTF works to increase access to creative enrichment for BIPOC artists.

We are partnering with Youth Arts Organizations across the country to provide their students with scholarships to renowned Craft schools and pre-college programs. Not only are we creating pathways into the field for BIPOC artists, but we offer continued support once these artists have arrived. This means connecting people with professional opportunities like internships and commissions that will help establish their networks and plant roots in the community. And for those who have already planted their roots, we celebrate and support them year round.

09/18/2026

TOMORROW in Charlotte, NC starting at 10am ET 👇

09/11/2026

Meet the makers of Better Together!
Join us Saturday, September 19 at The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC for an unforgettable day celebrating creativity and community at Better Together Charlotte, featuring live demonstrations from these incredible artists:

🧶Make + Take: Needle Felting w/ Nastassja Swift
Get hands-on with fiber art! Nastassja will guide you through the basics of needle felting as you transform soft wool into your very own mini felted drawing to take home.

🔥Glassblowing w/ Ceejay Renner-Thomas of Milk Glass
Watch the ancient art of glassblowing come to life with Ceejay Renner-Thomas of Milk Glass, a mobile glassblowing studio bringing workshops and education to communities in Charlottesville and beyond.

🧵Block-Printing w/ Lizz Leral of Quilting for Community
Play with pattern, color, and repetition through block printing on fabric. Make one square to take home and another to contribute to our future Community Quilt House, where your work becomes part of something bigger.

Plus: a vendor market, CTF Director Corey Pemberton's solo exhibition *Living Well*, and a panel conversation you won't want to miss!

📍 The Mint Museum, 500 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
🗓️ Saturday, September 19 | 10am–4pm ET

Learn more: https://www.mintmuseum.org/event/better-together-opening-day-celebration-for-corey-pemberton-living-well/?blm_aid=0

08/26/2026

Meet Bridget DeLee, an LA based artist working across painting and mixed media sculpture, and resident of CTF's LA residency program. Her work draws on family photos, urban change, and sociopolitical themes like race, equity, and displacement — incorporating materials with cultural significance to LA and the broader African diaspora.

DeLee's current research centers on the Gullah Geechee traditions of South Carolina's Low Country, from sweetgrass basket weaving to the symbolism of indigo, informing a new series of indigo blue portraits exploring identity, spirituality, and endurance.

Her work has shown at Durden and Ray, VAMA Gallery, The Mistake Room, Track16, Sovern LA, and Band of Vices, and was featured in the LA Times. DeLee holds an MFA from USC Roski. View Bridget's work

08/24/2026

Meet Sierra Hood (aka Sisi), a multidisciplinary artist based in LA whose work explores identity, cultural memory, femininity, and nostalgia. She is also a featured artist of the Crafting the Future LA residency program. Rooted in her Japanese and Filipino heritage, she draws on childhood memories, family traditions, and cultural landscapes to create vibrant, immersive works across painting, sculpture, textiles, and installation.

"My practice is an act of remembering, reclaiming, and creating." — Sierra Hood

Beyond the studio, Sierra brings her multidisciplinary eye to set design, prop making, and scenic painting for film and television. Check out Sierra's work

08/13/2026

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SEPT. 19 and join us for our Better Together series w/ DUPP&SWATT to explore and collect new artwork, attend workshops and demonstrations + hear from established artists, including CTF's very own Corey Pemberton and Cedric Mitchell, about their unique journeys and experiences of working as an artist of color in America.

10 AM-4 PM | Vendor market and artist demonstrations.
1-2:30 PM | Panel Discussion: Making a way. What does it take to build a creative life?
📍The Mint Museum, 500 S. Tyron St., Charlotte, NC

Learn more: https://www.mintmuseum.org/event/better-together-opening-day-celebration-for-corey-pemberton-living-well/?blm_aid=0

07/28/2026

Thank you! 💛 To everyone who entered the DIY Summer Sweepstakes, shared our posts, and helped fund opportunities for artists of color: we're so grateful for you. The sweepstakes may be over, but the mission isn't. You can still support transformational opportunities for artists of color by donating. And thanks to the Windgate Foundation, your gift will be DOUBLED if it's an increased gift or your first time giving. Make a difference: https://craftingthefuture.org/get-involved/ -today

07/20/2026

Time is running out to enter the CTF DIY Summer Fundraiser Sweepstakes!

Now until midnight on July 21, you can win any of these incredible pieces made by our community of artists. One ticket = one chance to win the item you love from the collection with 100% of the proceeds going toward funding scholarships for artists of color. The more tickets you purchase, the greater your chance of winning the art you love, and the more opportunities you open for the next generation of artists. Enter the sweepstakes and learn more: https://craftingthefuture.org/ctf-2026-diy-summer-fundraiser/

07/18/2026

Our Director at CTF, Corey Pemberton, has an important announcement…and it cannot wait (even until they finish going to the bathroom). Check out the video (maybe while you also do your morning business) to learn how you can collect art AND fund scholarships for artists of color! This is an opportunity you will not want to flush down the drain. Explore the art and learn more: https://craftingthefuture.org/ctf-2026-diy-summer-fundraiser/

07/16/2026

From a stunning glass & metal pendant to a one-of-a-kind patch work dress and much more, there are countless pieces YOU CAN WIN by purchasing a sweepstakes ticket in the CTF DIY Summer Fundraiser. The more tickets you purchase per item, the greater your chance is to win that piece! Here's the best part: 100% of proceeds go toward funding scholarships for artists of color with any new or increased donation to CTF being DOUBLED by the Windgate Foundation. Learn more and enter the sweepstakes today: https://craftingthefuture.org/ctf-2026-diy-summer-fundraiser/ The fundraiser ends July 21.

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Los Angeles, CA

Website

https://www.craftingthefuture.org/

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Peter Christian Hernandez Memorial Scholarshi

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