Papers by Nicolai Wolfgang Wacht
Korean Craftsmanship: Traditional Crafts of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. Daegu, Korea: Happy Craft Cooperative. [Catalog of exhibitions held at the Torpedo Factory Art Center (Alexandria, Virginia), and The George Washington University Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.), September 2025.], 2025
This book about crafts and crafters of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea’s largest province, introduces tha... more This book about crafts and crafters of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea’s largest province, introduces that region’s impressive artists and their craft traditions that will be on display at both the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia, and later at the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum in Washington D.C., in September 2025.
Gyeongsangbuk-do, located along the southeastern coast of South Korea, is a province that has long been a center for artisanal production of the unique traditional crafts like those presented in this exhibition – many of which were also represented in the earliest Korean ethnographic collections of the Smithsonian.
The Asian Cultural History Program, within the Smithsonian’s Anthropology Department, has a long history of cooperation with crafters in this region. We were delighted to support their participation in celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Smithsonian in the 1990s, a decade when that month was regularly celebrated with events at the National Museum of Natural History. We hosted Gyeongsangbuk-do art and craft demonstrations there in May 1990, then hosted a popular and innovative evening event at the national Museum of the American Indian, called “Tea with the Artists of Gyeongsangbuk-do.” This “tea with the artists” showcased a range of artistic achievements, including fiber arts, textiles, and traditional paper craft, and exemplified the cultural heritage that is especially associated with this province. What better way to enjoy these than sipping Gyeongsangbuk-do’s own special teas after a demonstration of the tea ceremony that is so integral to the history of this unique region in the Korean peninsula’s picturesque southeast?
We at the Smithsonian are proud to be involved in this presentation as part of our collaborative work with Korean museums and cultural institutions and artists. We thank the Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do and all his staff who helped make this exhibition possible, and our esteemed artist friends at the Gyeongsngbuk-do Happy Craft Cooperative, and we look forward to continuing collaborations, and much enjoyment and learning from their artistry, into the future.
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Papers by Nicolai Wolfgang Wacht
Gyeongsangbuk-do, located along the southeastern coast of South Korea, is a province that has long been a center for artisanal production of the unique traditional crafts like those presented in this exhibition – many of which were also represented in the earliest Korean ethnographic collections of the Smithsonian.
The Asian Cultural History Program, within the Smithsonian’s Anthropology Department, has a long history of cooperation with crafters in this region. We were delighted to support their participation in celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Smithsonian in the 1990s, a decade when that month was regularly celebrated with events at the National Museum of Natural History. We hosted Gyeongsangbuk-do art and craft demonstrations there in May 1990, then hosted a popular and innovative evening event at the national Museum of the American Indian, called “Tea with the Artists of Gyeongsangbuk-do.” This “tea with the artists” showcased a range of artistic achievements, including fiber arts, textiles, and traditional paper craft, and exemplified the cultural heritage that is especially associated with this province. What better way to enjoy these than sipping Gyeongsangbuk-do’s own special teas after a demonstration of the tea ceremony that is so integral to the history of this unique region in the Korean peninsula’s picturesque southeast?
We at the Smithsonian are proud to be involved in this presentation as part of our collaborative work with Korean museums and cultural institutions and artists. We thank the Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do and all his staff who helped make this exhibition possible, and our esteemed artist friends at the Gyeongsngbuk-do Happy Craft Cooperative, and we look forward to continuing collaborations, and much enjoyment and learning from their artistry, into the future.