Learn at the Craft & Folk Art Museum

The Craft & Folk Art Museum offers a variety of workshops and classes, art talks, readings, and participatory projects for all ages. View our chronological list of events.

THE CUT | EL CORTE
A Fitness Class & Papel Picado Workshop
Thursday, October 19 | 6:00–8:00pm | $20 / Free for members (includes refreshments)

THE CUT is a special fitness class presented by Equinox Miracle Mile at CAFAM. This special program begins with Equinox’s signature cardio-boxing workout and concludes with a CAFAM-led papel picado workshop focusing on making Mexican decorative cut paper.

Advanced registration required: info@cafam.org

FRAY: Art and Textile Politics
Book Launch & Discussion with Julia Bryan-Wilson
Saturday, October 21 | 3:00pm | Free with admission

Author Julia Bryan-Wilson is joined by artist Sabrina Gschwandtner to discuss her new book, Fray: Art and Textile Politics, which explores the role of textiles in debates about process, materiality, gender, and race in times of economic upheaval.

Space is limited, RSVP required: rsvp@cafam.org

The Exploding-Pumpkin-Carving Laboratory
Thursday, October 26 | 6:00–8:00pm | $35 / $30 members (includes materials & pumpkin)

This ghastly workshop and chemistry lab guides you through pumpkin-carving techniques and wicked laboratory experiments. From gruesome oozing to frightful explosive pumpkins, this workshop will be a blast!

Advanced registration required at link or email: workshops@cafam.org

THIS PROGRAM IS FILLED
CAFAM Travels
Saturday, October 28, 2017 | 9:00am–5:30pm

One-day art tour of Tijuana in conjunction with our PST exhibition The US-Mexico Border: Place, Imagination, and Possibility. Led by independent curator Karla Aguiñiga, the trip will leave from San Diego and includes lunch and a tour of the wine region of Valle de Guadalupe with architect Alejandro D'Acosta. Our participants will also visit and discuss the site of the controversial border wall, and enjoy an artist studio tour with Einar and Jamex de la Torre.

CraftNight: Día de los Muertos Workshop
with Marcus Kuiland-Nazario
Thursday, November 2 | 7:00–9:00pm | Demonstrations at 7:00pm & 7:30pm | $10 / Free for members (includes materials, drinks, and snacks)

Marcus Kuiland-Nazario leads a special workshop celebrating the history and traditions of Día de los Muertos, the emblematic and seminal Mexican holiday that celebrates ancestors.

Space is limited, RSVP requested: cafamnovember2017.eventbrite.com

ROJO: A Cochineal Natural Dye Workshop with Mimi Haddon
Saturday, November 4 | 1:00–4:00pm | $70 / $60 members (includes materials

Artist Mimi Haddon leads a workshop on basic techniques of using cochineal, an ancient technique of natural textile dyeing that dates to the Maya Empire. Learn about the history of this crimson dye and the insects used to produce it.

Advanced registration required at link or email: workshops@cafam.org

Imagination, Place & Possibility: A Conversation
with Curator Lowery Stokes Sims and Amalia Mesa-Bains
Sunday, November 5 | 3:00pm | Free with admission

The U.S.-Mexico Border: Place, Imagination, and Possibility co-curator Lowery Stokes Sims is joined in conversation by her longtime friend and collaborator Amalia Mesa-Bains, a pioneering Chicana artist. This engaging discussion touches on the relevance of CAFAM’s current exhibition surveying the history and contemporary practices of artistic production on the border.

Space is limited, RSVP required: rsvp@cafam.org

LIT! A Menorah & Candelabra Clay Workshop
with Ben Medansky
Saturday, November 11 | 1:00–4:00pm | $100 / $90 members (includes materials and kiln firing)

Artist Ben Medansky leads a clay workshop on designing and hand-building a menorah or candelabra. Participants will also create an individual candle stick using Ben’s signature speckled clay. Fired and glazed work will be available for pickup at a later date.

Advanced registration required at link or email: workshops@cafam.org

God’s Eye Yarn Weaving: A CraftLab Family Workshop
Sunday, November 12 | Drop-in between 1:30–3:30pm | $7 adults / $5 children / Free for members

Color, yarn, and wood combine to create unique weavings inspired by traditional Mexican craft practices. Learn about these special techniques and enjoy an afternoon creating your own Ojo de Dios (God’s Eye) sculptural weaving.

CAFAM will be closed for Thanksgiving on November 23.

HANDMADE LA 2017
Saturday, November 25 & Sunday, November 26 11:00am–6:00pm | Free

Handmade LA is CAFAM's bi-annual marketplace, showcasing a curated selection of one-of-a-kind contemporary craft and design creations by LA makers just in time for holiday shopping. Join us for shopping, fun, music, and more!

Go to event page for more information.

OBJECT: Pop-up Shop
Saturday, November 25 – Saturday, December 30 | Open during regular museum hours

In conjunction with the Handmade LA marketplace and current exhibition The U.S.-Mexico Border: Place, Imagination, and Possibility, the CAFAM Shop is hosting a pop-up by OBJECT, a Tijuana-based shop focused on Mexican contemporary design using natural and high-quality materials.

CraftNight: Downtown LA Clay Laboratory Night
Thursday, November 30 | 6:00–8:00pm | Angel City Brewery, 216 Alameda St. 90012 | $10 / Free for members (includes materials)

Play with clay during this fun air-dry clay workshop at Angel City Brewery in DTLA! Grab some clay, enjoy a pint, and experiment—no firing necessary!

Space is limited. RSVP requested: cafamnovember2017acb.eventbrite.com

Circular Knitting on a Loom Workshop with Tanya Aguiñiga
Saturday, December 2 | 1:00–4:00pm | $90 / $80 members (includes materials)

Join exhibiting artist Tanya Aguiñiga to create your own circular loom and make large-scale tubular structures and vessels. Each participant will knit one structural piece during the workshop and take their loom home!

Advanced registration required at link or email: workshops@cafam.org

CraftNight: Papercraft, a Holiday Workshop
Thursday, December 7 | 7:00–9:00pm | Demonstrations at 7:00pm & 7:30pm | $10 / Free for members (includes materials, drinks, and snacks)

From Polish folk papercrafts to papel picado, this special workshop turns ordinary and inexpensive paper into extraordinary decorative creations. Learn a variety of techniques and experiment to create beautiful holiday creations.

Space is limited, RSVP requested: cafamdecember2017.eventbrite.com

Upcycled Instruments with Guillermo Galindo
A CraftLab Family Workshop
Sunday, December 10 | Drop-in between 1:30–3:30pm | $7 adults / $5 kids / Free for members

Exhibiting artist Guillermo Galindo leads a workshop on constructing instruments from unconventional materials, based on his own practice of making instruments from the discards left behind by immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Huarache Making Workshop with Pilar Agüero-Esparza
Saturday, December 16 | 12:00–5:00pm | $90 / $80 members (materials included)

Exhibiting artist Pilar Agüero-Esparza leads an afternoon workshop on designing and making leather huaraches, a contemporary Mexican sandal with pre-Columbian origins. Participants will learn basic leather working and weaving techniques to create their very own pair of sandals!

Advanced registration required at link or email: workshops@cafam.org

CAFAM will close at 3:00pm on Sunday, December 31 for New Year’s Eve.