The Philadelphia Contemporary Craft Show turned 50 by keeping it fresh

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know! The annual Philadelphia Contemporary Craft Show lands in the Pennsylvania Convention Center this weekend for its 50th time, with 195 artists and artisans displaying textiles, furniture, ceramics, jewelry and glasswork. It has just about anything that can be handmade, show director and manager Nancy O’Meara said, but nothing that is ordinary. “The definition of craft is very broad. It could be macrame, Afghans, that sort of thing. That was never the Philadelphia show,” O’Meara said. “It’s always been looking for the artist who is working in a field — whether it be clay, metal, wood, fiber — and taking it to the next level, being very innovative, using the right tools. This is their livelihood. This is not a weekend hobby.” The show was launched in 1977 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Women’s Committee as a benefit for the museum. Since then, it has raised $15.3 million.