The Best of Tennessee Craft 2021 Biennial, presented in partnership with Tennessee Craft, is now on view at the Tennessee State Museum. This juried exhibition celebrates and showcases the exceptional contemporary and traditional craft our state has to offer, providing public visibility and recognition for the quality and diversity of craft found throughout Tennessee.

Best in Show went to Nashville’s Beizar Aradini for her fiber/textile work, My Existence is Political. She is the first Kurdish American to win the exhibition’s top prize.

Additional winners include:

First Place: Marty McConnaughey, Sharps Chapel—Basketry
Second Place: John Jordan, Cane Ridge—Wood
Third Place: Ashley Seay, Nashville—Sculpture
Merit Award: Jeanne W. Brady, Smithville—Fiber/Textile
Merit Award: Sherri Warner Hunter, Bell Buckle—Sculpture
Merit Award: Monya Nikahd, Watertown—Fiber/Textile
Merit Award: Lesley Patterson-Marx, Nashville—Fiber/Textile
Merit Award: Ronald E. Young, Chattanooga—Wood