stephen Burks: Shelter In Place
Person with short hair in a patterned sweater inspecting large wooden ring frames arranged in a tiered pyramid shape on a workbench.
Person holding a large, wooden, circular, spiral-shaped sculptural art piece, obscuring their upper body with only legs visible.
Person holding a large, upside-down wooden outdoor bench with curved slats, standing against a plain white background.

Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place explores ideas concerning domesticity—namely asking how we can design our interiors to enable joyful living while empowering creativity. It is the first exhibition in over a decade to survey Burks’s workshop-based design practice, presenting several key projects from the last ten years. These industrial design and craft-centered projects will be seen in conversation with Shelter in Place, a new speculative project that will explore the visionary possibilities of design.

As an African American designer, Burks has forged a unique path by embracing the challenge to advocate for hand production as a strategy for innovation within industrial production. Shelter in Place will also demonstrate Burks’s holistic approach across the disciplines of art, architecture, and design that underscores principles of synthesizing craft, community, and industry.

www.stephenburksmanmade.com

Exhibit: The High Museum of Atlanta

Book: Shelter In Place

A man is partially hidden behind a large, layered wooden cone structure, peeking out from behind the side.
Person assembling a large, round, wooden light fixture with concentric rings and black support spokes, against a plain white background.
A person with short hair and a green patterned sweater is pushing a large, colorful ball made of numerous strings or threads against a plain white background.
Stephen Burks working on a large wooden spiral basket on a workbench in his workshop.
A man walking in a woodworking workshop, carrying a large wooden basket, with other baskets and woodworking tools around.
Stephen Burks in a colorful sweater and black pants looks at a tall, conical sculpture made of stacked wooden strips in a woodworking studio.
Stephen Burks, wearing black boots and rolled-up jeans, holds a colorful, patterned fabric in a workspace with shelves of yarn or thread in the background.
Stephen Burks standing in Berea College Student Craft's weaving studio, holding a colorful, patterned fabric or blanket, with wooden racks in the background.
Stephen Burks holding up a colorful, patterned textile with both hands, standing indoors with storage shelves in the background.
Stephen Burks holds colorful thin strands of material in a workshop. There is a large, multicolored "Broom Thing", a structural art piece made of broomcorn, hanging from the ceiling behind him. The broom studio has wooden furniture and supplies.
Woman with long wavy hair wearing glasses and a black shirt, sitting in Berea College Student Craft's broom studio, holding purple bundles of broomcorn.
Stephen Burks reaches out toward a colorful, spherical art piece called "Broom Thing" made of broomcorn hanging in Berea College Student Craft's broom studio.
Stephen Burks holding a large, bright pink Broom Thing made of broomcorn at Berea College Student Craft and smiling at the camera.
Close-up of hands working with a large bundle of multicolored broomcorn in Berea College Student Craft broom studio, with various strands of different colors and textures.
A person demonstrating broom making with purple and black brushes and wooden tools, with a woman observing, in Berea College Student Craft.
Berea College Student Craft broom squire working with colorful broomcorn in a workshop, with sunlight shining in the background.
Black and white photo of Stephen Burks, holding a broom with a structural art piece called Broom Thing behind him in the Berea College Student Craft broom studio.
Close-up of a broom maker holding a bundle of multicolored broomcorn, with sunlight casting shadows on their arm and clothing in Berea College Student Craft's broom studio.
Stephen Burks in a patterned shirt is spinning colorful broomcorn in a broom shop with various tools and equipment and a Broom Thing in the background.
Stephen Burks holding a large bundle of colorful broomcorn.
Stephen Burks holding colorful broom corn in a broom studio in Berea College Student Craft.
  • A close-up view of colorful Berea College Student Craft broom corn intertwined and overlapping in various colors including yellow, pink, purple, red, green, and orange.
  • A young woman with long, wavy hair and eyeglasses working on a project at a table in Berea College Student Craft.
  • Colorful bundles of broomcorn arranged on a circular wooden table in Berea College Student Craft's broom studio.
  • A woman with glasses and long wavy hair standing in a Berea College Student Craft's broom studio, looking up at a large, colorful "Broom Thing" made of broomcorn hanging above her, with various tools displayed on the wall behind her.
Cyclists gathered at the start of a biking event, some wearing helmets and sports gear, with a scenic wooded background and a large black, white, and red RV.

War Daddy Race

A young woman with brown hair in a red polka dot dress operating a wooden loom, seen from above against a wooden interior.
Two women standing in front of a modern, curved architectural structure with orange accents and warm lighting.

Student Craft Industries

workAC