Bey who is based in Syracuse and works mainly in ceramics explores the material’s ties to histories, politics, and identity, as well as these subjects’ overall connectedness with craft. The 52-year old artist who previously received the United States Artist Fellowship, the Pollock-Krasner Fellowship, and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship was selected out of a two-step process which included a group of established artists suggested by the advisory board; and then, the committee worked with the curatorial team at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art with guidance from design critic Glenn Adamson to finalize a shortlist and select the winner. “Contemporary craft can sometimes overlap with the evocative work we see in contemporary art, but what makes it especially compelling is the way innovative works draw on material histories and
traditions of making and using objects.” Bey told Interior Design about the acknowledgement and added that he was trying to sell $30 coffee mugs at street fairs not long ago. He also reminded the challenges of working in craft today by saying, “I think many of us have moments of doubt, and I know from hearing from the emerging awardees that receiving this award reminded them that they are moving in the right direction.”
Spector also underlined that American craft “has never been one tradition and it has been shaped by Indigenous knowledge, immigration, regional practices, vernacular traditions and artists constantly adapting and reinventing what came before them.” The winners will convene for a six-day summit focused on the future of American craft between November 10–12 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
