Smiths: Arts & Skills Service

“Here in San Francisco over fifteen hundred men a month are being sent out from our three military hospitals with a new weapon in their hands: a skill or craft with which to fight discouragement or boredom…” — Sophie Morris Kent on Arts & Skills, 1944

On the occasion of SFMOMA’s anniversary exhibition 75 Years of Looking Forward, Allison Smith was commissioned to research and reenact self-selected episodes in the history of the museum’s public programs. What began as an artist residency has evolved into a series of interactive installations, public conversations, hands-on workshops and other exchanges in which Smith brings Bay Area makers, veterans, art students, and art therapists together in dialogue through forms of making and doing.

In Arts & Skills Service, Smith enlists a volunteer corps of artists and craftspeople to teach hands-on workshops to military service members and veterans, in order to engage in the healing process through creative skill-shares. At this gathering, we will share the research, resources, ideas, and questions occasioned thus far by Smith’s Arts & Skills Service, and we welcome your contributions and participation.

Things to Make and Do…
Blanket making – Allen Meyer, Ian Carter
Ceramic cups and sprig molds – Ehren Tool
Crochet – Erin Comparri, Rachel Myers
Digital video and blogs – Patrick Gillespie
Hand-sewn produce bags – Kate Ruddle
Interviewing and recording for radio – The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson, Nikki Silva)
Kintsugi ceramic repair – Brad Menninga, Zarouhie Abdalian
Knitting – Karin Fetherston
Mending on a treadle sewing machine – Michael Swaine
Millinery – Michelle Lewis-King
Natural dyes and scents – Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Shoko Yamamura
Origami – Lilah Beldner
Patchwork flags and collaborative quilt-making – Roderick Kiracofe, Angie Wilson, Laurel Shackelford
Pinups and poster art – Katy Chmura
Weaving – Robin Johnston
Woodcarving – Erich Richter
Woodworking – Martin Sweet
Wrap dolls – Rae Fleagle, Carrie Sinclair-Katz, Erendira Lopez, Michael Noble
Writing and wreath-making – Karen Van Dine