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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KCET NATIONAL PBS PRESENTATION, ‘CRAFT IN AMERICA,’ WINS THE 2007 PEABODY
April 10, 2008
Los Angeles, CA – Craft in America, a filmed journey to the history, artists and techniques of our nation’s rich craft culture, has been awarded the prestigious Peabody Award, it was announced on April 2, 2008 by the University of Georgia. Co-executive produced by Carol Sauvion and Kyra Thompson, Craft in America premiered on PBS on May 30, 2007, and was presented nationally by KCET, the West Coast Flagship station of PBS.
The award citation for the series noted: “This three-hour chronicle of America’s rich, ongoing traditions of weaving, quilting, woodworking and other craft art was as carefully wrought and as beautifully shot as its subject matter...visually elegant, the programs also allow the creators to explain the deeply personal perspectives that define their work.”
Craft in America is the result of a decade-long passion of Sauvion, who also created the series. Joining her in her effort were fellow Californians Thompson, who also wrote the series, and Jacoba Atlas, a former senior vice president for programming at PBS and currently president of Creative Visions Productions. Executive in charge of production for KCET is Joyce Campbell. Sauvion is developing new episodes for PBS for 2009.
Craft in America mirrors other, relatively obscure projects that somehow rise to the top. “I wanted to do a series to make people more aware of craft, which, while all around us, seems to be hiding in plain sight in our high-tech, drag-and-drop world,” Sauvion said.
Sauvion readily admits that a subject like the handmade would never have garnered attention had she not been in Los Angeles, a center of the entertainment industry. The talented team of filmmakers, some of America’s best documentarians, included directors Nigel Noble, Daniel Seeger and Hilary Birmingham; cinematographers Don Lenzer, Peter Pilafian, Allan Palmer, and Steven Poster; composer Laura Karpman; and narrator Randy Oglesby.
The exquisite production value of the series, shot in high definition, resonated with the PBS audience. Total household viewership held steady throughout Craft in America’s three hours of broadcasts: “Memory,” “Landscape” and “Community.”
Ancillary projects that expand upon the craft story include the book Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects, written by Jo Lauria and Steve Fenton, and published by Random House; Craft in America: Expanding Traditions, a traveling exhibition of craft objects touring U.S. museums for two years; and an expansive website, www.pbs.org/craftinamerica.
Craft in America Credits
Underwriter: National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Independent Television Service (ITVS), Helen and Peter Bing, L.L. Brownrigg, Cathleen Collins, Lillian and Jon Lovelace, Cynthia Lovelace Sears and Frank Buxton, Stolaroff Foundation, Windgate Charitable Foundation, Public Television Viewers, PBS and Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Producers: Craft in America, Inc. and Independent Television Service (ITVS). Presenter: KCET Los Angeles. Co-executive producer/creator: Carol Sauvion. Co-executive producer/writer: Kyra Thompson. Directors: Nigel Noble (“Memory”), Dan Seeger (“Landscape”) and Hilary Birmingham (“Community”). Executive in charge for ITVS: Sally Fifer. Executive in charge of production for KCET: Joyce Campbell. Production executive for KCET: Robert McDonnell. Format: CC Stereo Letterbox/HD where available. Online: pbs.org/craftinamerica.
About the Peabody Awards
The Peabody Awards, the oldest honor in electronic media, recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious public service by television and radio stations, networks and producers. The Peabody Board is a 16-member group comprised of television critics, broadcast industry executives and experts in culture and the arts. For more information about the Peabody Awards, visit www.peabody.uga.edu.
About KCET
KCET, the West Coast flagship station of PBS, is public television for Southern and Central California. KCET is watched by four million viewers a month in 11 counties, the largest broadcast reach of any public television station in the United States. National PBS series produced from the station’s Hollywood studios include three-time NAACP Award winner Tavis Smiley and the Peabody Award-winning series A Place Of Our Own and Los Niños En Su Casa. Other KCET productions for PBS include Global Watch, a half-hour special program airing in April 2008, and Sid The Science Kid, a new series co-produced for PBS by KCET and the Henson Company premiering May 2008. KCET also produced the 10-week PBS science and technology series Wired Science in association with Wired magazine, and most recently Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil And The Presidency. Throughout its more than 40-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children’s programs, its outreach and community services, and its Web site, kcet.org. KCET is donor-supported community television. More than half of the funds raised to support KCET’s operating budget come from individual support. For additional information about KCET productions, Web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org.
CONTACT:
Laurel Lambert, KCET (323) 953-5246
Cathy Williams, KCET (323) 953-5243
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