Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, Saint Louis

Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design is a non-profit arts education center. Founded in 1964, Craft Alliance's mission is to enrich and empower communities through craft. The organization began as a cooperative gallery, featuring the work of regional craft-based artists. By 1966, the center had expanded to offer visual arts classes to the community, and in 1969 it moved to the Delmar Loop, an economically depressed area on the border of St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

Over the years, Craft Alliance has become a nationally recognized organization dedicated to the study of traditional craft mediums within contemporary contexts. The organization offers annual exhibition programming with a focus on contemporary craft, classes and workshops in ceramic art, metal-smithing, fibers, 3D fabrication, graphics, and woodturning, artist residencies, free community programs for area families and local schools, and a gallery shop.

Craft Alliance has also made significant contributions to the revitalization of the Delmar Loop area. In 2007, the American Planning Association designated the Delmar Loop as one of "10 Great Streets in America" through its Great Places in America program, citing the sustained efforts of local business, government, and the community to achieve successful physical and economic revitalization. In the same year, Craft Alliance opened a satellite facility in Grand Center, the arts and entertainment district of St. Louis city. The Grand Center location offers community outreach programs to St. Louis City children and teens, and educational courses for the public in clay, metals, graphics, and textiles.

In 2021, Craft Alliance consolidated and moved its location 2 miles east down Delmar Blvd. to 5080 Delmar Blvd. The new location is part of the Delmar Maker District, along with Third Degree Glass Factory and MADE. The center offers classes, camps, workshops, exhibitions, artist residencies, and a gift shop full of handmade art.

Craft Alliance has attracted notable artists to teach, study, or exhibit their work throughout its 50-year history. The organization is nationally recognized as one of the premier craft organizations in the country, alongside schools like Penland, Arrowmont, and Lillstreet. With its focus on traditional craft mediums within contemporary contexts, Craft Alliance continues to enrich and empower communities through craft.