Craft Contemporary Museum in Los Angeles

Craft Contemporary is a building with over half a century of history, a gallery of folk art. As Los Angeles has become a significant international art hub, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art supports the careers of currently renowned craftsmen, including Sam Maloof, Otto and Vivika Heino, and Beatrice Wood.

The Museum of Craft and Folk Art has been in Los Angeles since 1965 and reveals the potential of craft for education, engagement, provocation, and expanding opportunities. Focusing on contemporary art, Craft Contemporary features exhibitions of well-known and emerging artists and designers who are often absent from major art institutions.

Features of a Folk Art Museum

Thanks to an extensive list of regular programs and events, Craft Contemporary offers the community the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops conducted by professional artists. The museum creates an environment for people in Los Angeles to deepen their connection to art, creativity, and each other.

By participating in exhibitions, Craft Contemporary coordinates a comprehensive list of hands-on workshops led by professional artists and instructors. The museum is a place where friends and families come to awaken their creative potential, more fully appreciate the meaning of crafting by hand, and experience its beneficial impact.

This art center collaborates with community organizations across Los Angeles to bring together artists and craftsmen from across the city for collaborative group projects and special events. It's impossible to predict what unique item you might find here.

This extends to the Craft Contemporary Shop, which features a constantly changing assortment of beautiful handcrafted items from skilled artisans. The intimate, atypical museum space and independent spirit at Craft Contemporary combine to create an atmosphere of genuine excitement and delight. Step inside and become part of what's happening at the museum.

Craft and Folk Art Museum: The History of the Art Center's Origin

Little is known about the early years of the building. By the 1950s, it housed offices, an exhibition hall for an interior designer, and later a travel agency. In 1965, a group of women led by artist Edith R. Wyle, whom the LA Times called the "High Priestess of Folk Art," channeled their passion for indigenous art into a small cafe named "The Egg and The Eye." In addition to serving 50 types of omelets, the cafe sold decorative crafts and traditional art from cultures around the world.

The success of this concept spurred the creation of the nonprofit Craft and Folk Art Museum in 1973. From the beginning, the venue was a "living museum," offering workshops led by artists and educational programs. Edith Wyle served as the museum's artistic director from 1973 to 1984, after which she retired.

By the end of 1997, the museum closed due to financial difficulties, at that time believed to be permanent. However, Patrick Ela, who was the administrative director from 1975 to 1984, established partnerships with the Los Angeles city administration, which allowed the museum to reopen in February 1999.

In early 2019, the museum was renamed Craft Contemporary, replacing the old Craft and Folk Art Museum. The new name was an attempt to better reflect what the museum had been emphasizing recently: the intersection of contemporary art, craft, and design. The name Craft Contemporary "looks boldly towards the future and grounds us in the present," said Executive Director Suzanne Isken.