Namita Gupta Wiggers
Lecture and Discussion: Critical Craft
What if we craft a new reality?
Discussion with Namita Gupta Wiggers, founder of the MA programm in craft focusing on critical theory and history at the Warren-Wilson College and co-founder of the platform critical craft forum. criticalcraftforum.com, www.warren-wilson.edu/craft
We are experiencing moments where discussions are erupting adressing decolonization, unsettling coloniality and identifying and rupturing structures of white power and privilege in society. But what if we transfer those questions on our craft practices and studies?
Craft is at the core of cultural knowledge, learning between generations, and community connections. To understand a culture or a community, you must also understand their craft. Since there is no single history of craft, there are multipel craft practices, we have to move from inviting people to have a seat at a table to rethinking the table itself. Although museums and academia are considered cultural centers, these spaces do not include the breadth and depth of craft histories.
Namita Gupta Wiggers is a writer, curator, and educator based in Portland, OR. She is the Director | Curator and Co-Founder of Critical Craft Forum. Wiggers is the Program Director of the Master of Arts in Craft Studies at Warren Wilson College, North Carolina. The Master’s in Critical Craft Studies is the first program of its kind to integrate American studies, anthropology, art history, decorative art history, design history, social history, and material and visual culture studies. This low residency programm focuses on critical and historical craft studies
