2019 Visionary Award Recipient

Joyce J. Scott

Joyce J. Scott is the 2019 recipient of the Smithsonian Visionary Award, honored for her brilliant work in jewelry. Scott uses hand-threaded beads and blown glass to create arresting jewelry, figurative sculptures and wall hangings.  Her art … described in the New York Times as “angry, raucous and shamelessly gorgeous, often provoking unruly laughter,” is intended, she says “to induce people to stop raping, torturing and shooting each other”.  It celebrates a family history of craftsmanship and most particularly her mother, Elizabeth Talford Scott, a nationally heralded fiber artist, who taught Joyce to sew with beads when she was 5 years old. Born, raised and still living in Baltimore, Scott was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016, receiving a significant cash award.  
A curated selection of her jewelry will be on display at the 2019 Smithsonian Craft Show, along with several evocative sculptures.  Scott’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Baltimore Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Corning Glass Museum and many other renowned institutions.
A special ticketed event titled “CONVO with the Visionary” will take place Thursday evening, April 25th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm when Scott engages in lively conversation with Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, followed by a Q&A.  Tickets at $45 each include all day entry to the Craft Show (open until 8:00 pm) and one complimentary drink.

Joyce J. Scott; Photo by John Dean
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