PMA Craft Show turns 50 with 195 artists

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's Contemporary Craft Show is hitting its 50th anniversary, and it's one of those events that rewards a bit of planning. The 2026 edition runs Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Exhibit Hall F, at 12th and Arch Streets, with a Preview Party the evening before on Thursday, November 5. Over the course of the weekend, 195 artists show work across 13 categories of craft and design — fiber, glass, wood, metal, clay, mixed media, and paper — so the jewelry, furniture, ceramics, and wearable art all come from a wide range of mediums.

One detail that sets this apart from a typical art fair: everything is for sale, and the artists keep 100% of their sales with no commission taken. The sole beneficiary is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has raised more than $15.3 million over the past 49 years to fund educational programs, exhibitions, acquisitions, and conservation. The show is put on by The Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Craft Show Committee; the Women's Committee dates back to 1883 and is one of the oldest women's organizations supporting a cultural institution in the country. This year's anniversary is also part of 'Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026,' a national Semiquincentennial collaboration.

If you're going, the hours shift a bit each day. The Preview Party on Thursday runs from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. and includes a cocktail buffet, drinks, and admission to all three days of the show. Friday is 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday is 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday is 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for one day or $25 for two, and children under 12 are $5. The Preview Party gala starts at $250 and up per person.

There are a few programmed moments worth building a visit around. On Friday at 1:00 p.m., 'Fit to be Tied' is an interactive presentation on styling scarves and shawls with four artists. Saturday has two: 'Find Your Style' at noon, a fashion event with garments, jewelry, leather, and other personal-use items from participating artists, and a 2:00 p.m. talk on the work of ceramicists Syd Carpenter, Roberto Lugo, and Adebunmi Gbadebo, which covers the history and future of ceramics. Admission for the talk is included with the show, but seats are limited and reservations are required.

Those three ceramicists are all Philadelphia-based and bring very different perspectives. Syd Carpenter is a sculptor who studied painting and ceramics at the Tyler School of Art and centers her work on African American farms and gardens. Roberto Lugo is a ceramicist, social activist, and educator whose work confronts systemic racism and representation, blending traditional European and Asian techniques with a 21st-century urban sensibility. Adebunmi Gbadebo works from her ancestral connection to the True Blue Plantation in South Carolina, embedding locs from friends and family into vessels made from soil gathered at the site of her ancestors' enslavement. Between the 195 artists and the anniversary programming, it's a full weekend's worth of craft in one room.