In Xiao Faria daCunha’s review of Agency: Craft in Chicago from the 1970s–80s and Beyond at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, the author points to ways in which Chicago’s history of craft has been informed by social movements.
“Another distinguishing characteristic of Chicago’s Arts and Crafts Movement was its close ties to ongoing social advocacies. While the British movement primarily served as a call for aesthetic reformation, Chicago’s movement preserved its predecessor’s focus on nature, simplicity, and craftsmanship and utilized crafts as an effective outlet to express ongoing political changes, including women’s suffrage, gender equality, and the Civil Rights Movement by emphasizing historically marginalized voices. Instead of rejecting and criticizing the industrial world, Chicago’s craftspeople showed a more adaptive and experimental attitude toward artificial materials, such as industrial waste, while staying true to the movement’s essence of rediscovering organic, unprocessed, natural beauty.” — Xiao Faria daCunha, Sixty Inches from Center
Read the full review on Sixty Inches from Center’s website.
Agency: Craft in Chicago from the 1970s–80s and Beyond was on view at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art September 21, 2024 – January 26, 2025.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Xiao Faria daCunha
Xiao Faria daCunha (she/her) is a practicing visual artist and an independent journalist covering what’s happening in the Midwest belt, focusing on lifestyle, art, and culture. By weaving her personal experience with public narratives, Xiao creates emotional and engaging conversations to interrogate, challenge, and advance existing perceptions of women, Asian diasporas, and other immigration populations.
