Re-membering A Black Craft Tradition
Session 2 | June 22–July 4
A Throne of No Return, A Chair for Us All by Robell Awake, 2022. Maple, ash, hickory, paper cord, milk paint, 18 1/4" x 15" x 34 3/4". Photo by Dustin Chambers.
No chairmakers, past or present, have woven seats quite like the Poynors of Central Tennessee. This multigenerational family of formerly enslaved chairmakers harvested white oak splints, a labor intensive process typically used in basketry, to weave the seats of their distinct ladderback chairs. Over 150 years later, many of these intricately patterned seats still remain intact yet the knowledge of how they were constructed doesn't. My hope is that I, and session participants, will recreate and document this process in order to preserve this incredible tradition.
Robell Awake (he/him) is a chairmaker, teacher, and researcher based in Atlanta, GA. He is a recipient of the Center for Craft’s Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship and has taught at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Penland School of Craft, and has presented at the Furniture Society, Warren Wilson College, Berea College, and Washington College. Awake’s forthcoming book, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects, will be published through Princeton Architectural Press in February 2025.
Visiting Artists do not teach workshops. These individuals are in residence throughout sessions and augment the creative practices on campus through their own research, informal activities, and integration into the session community.