About the Project
Craft Revival: Shaping Western North Carolina Past and Present — a website and digital archive — is a project of Hunter Library at Western Carolina University. The project received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Administered as a Heritage Partners grant by the State Library of North Carolina, the Craft Revival project is part of NC ECHO: Exploring Cultural Heritage Online, a state initiative.
Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library is responsible for the research and writing that informs the online storyboard presented on the website. It staffs the project and administers its budget. The Library receives items from seven Heritage Partners and uploads them into a database that forms this project’s digital collections. Hunter Library assumes full responsibility for maintaining the website/database and for making it available to the public via the World Wide Web.
The Craft Revival project’s seven Heritage Partners represent western North Carolina institutions that have a stake in the Craft Revival story. These include:
- John C. Campbell Folk School,
- Museum of the Cherokee Indian,
- Penland School of Crafts,
- Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual,
- Southern Highland Craft Guild,
- WCU’s Mountain Heritage Center, and the
- Hunter Library’s own Special Collections.
Each of these Partners digitizes documents and objects selected from their home collections.
These various items come together to create a cohesive and complete story of the Craft Revival and its cumulative impact in shaping western North Carolina and the state. Coded to enhance online searchability, these items are presented as part of the Craft Revival virtual collection accessible via online database. This online archive provides the visitor with a firsthand look at period documents, vintage photographs, and images of craft objects. The web-based storyboard interprets this material and provides context for a deeper understanding.
Read The Story. Meet The People. Learn about The Crafts. View The Collection and link to Resources, including a bibliography, lesson plans, and today’s craft organizations.