John C. Campbell Folk School is now an official affiliate member of the Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America [ABANA].

ABANA is familiar to the JCCFS blacksmithing community with multiple member categories for both hobbyists and professionals.

According to Rusty Osborne, who serves in several leadership roles with ABANA, including Chair of the Affiliate and Membership Services Committee, the Folk School is the first educational institution to join as an affiliate member. Partnering with ABANA is simply another affirmation of the Folk School’s commitment to highlighting excellence across the craft.

From ABANA’s standpoint, Osborne said, the hope is having the Folk School as an affiliate will encourage other schools to join. ABANA is expanding its global reach, Osborne said, with a goal to keep the art and craft relevant.
“We are a relatively young country; our blacksmithing depth is necessarily limited to a couple hundred years versus Europe having been blacksmithing at a very high level for thousands of years.”

With 2,788 members across its categories, it is clear ABANA is growing and evolving to meet the needs of its members, offering workshops, technical and art publications, grants, awards, conferences and exhibitions honoring the metal arts.

About ABANA

The Artist-Blacksmith Association of North America is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and sharing technical skills and design excellence in the blacksmith community.
Visit abana.org