Queering Wood Craft

May 7 – July 25, 2027

The universe is not only queerer than we suppose, it is queerer than we can suppose. ~ J.B.S. Haldane

“Queer” is used today as both a descriptor of identity and a verb conjuring subversion. Both represent a challenge, whether to normative structures or conventional intimacies. This exhibition, with a working title, Queering Wood Craft, will highlight the work of queer-identified makers working in wood, and be both exploration and celebration of the dynamic intersections between contemporary work in wood and the multiple meanings of queer. We’ll explore the history of this craft through a queer lens, making us visible to ourselves and rendering more complex our understanding of queer lives, labor, and communal and familial relationships.

History: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Navva Milliken and the Museum for Art in Wood staff began to convene a group of makers online under the umbrella of Queering Wood Craft (QWC). Over more than a dozen sessions, we’ve focused on distinct aspects of the subject: education, queer aesthetics, kinship and sensuality, resistance, and self-definition. Taken together, these discussions form a matrix of questions and ideas from which this exhibition emerges.

Integral to humanity’s experience for centuries and across continents, woodworking has an essential role that is distinct and multifaceted. We invite artists and makers who work in wood—building furniture, turning, carving, or otherwise using wood as the primary material in their work—to submit their work for consideration. The exhibition will take place at the Museum for Art in Wood from late May-late July 2027.

Note on our use of the word “Queer”: We understand that not all members of the LGBTQIA+ community choose to use this word. Recognizing its complex and sometimes divisive or derogatory history, we believe that today—after decades of joyful reclamation—queer is the most inclusive term we can choose to hold a powerful breadth of identities, presentations, and relationships.

Applications open: July 15, 2026
Applications close: September 15, 2026
Notification: October 30, 2026

Assistance: If you’d like assistance with the application process, please contact: katie@museumforartinwood.org.
For other inquiries, please contact: queeringwoodcraft@gmail.com