Oneida County History Center to Host Author Talk on Arts and Crafts Utopias

UTICA, NY — Oneida County History Center will host a talk featuring Tom Guiler, author of “The Hand-Crafted Utopia: Arts and Crafts Communities in America’s Progressive Era,” on Saturday, April 11, at 2:00 p.m. at the History Center.

In the late 1800s, as rapid industrialization transformed the American landscape, a counter-cultural movement emerged. Fed up with the grueling conditions of factory work and the soulless nature of mass-produced goods, the Arts and Crafts Movement championed the idea that beauty and meaningful labor should be accessible to everyone.

During this presentation, Guiler will explore how the movement’s leaders sought to solve the social and economic ills of industrial capitalism. He will highlight three visionary communities that attempted to build a “hand-crafted utopia” through communal living, artistic focus, and the production of high-quality furniture, architecture, and metalwork.

Thomas A. Guiler

Thomas A. Guiler (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is the director of museum affairs at the Oneida Community Mansion House in Oneida, NY. He was assistant professor of history and public humanities at the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library in Wilmington, Delaware and served as the president of the Communal Studies Association. Guiler has published on the history and material culture of intentional communities such as Oneida and of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

About the Oneida County History Center:

Located at 1608 Genesee Street, Utica, NY, Oneida County History Center is a private 501(c) (3) not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving the history, heritage, and culture of the Greater Mohawk Valley for present and future generations. Free for History Center members, $5.00 suggested admission for non-members. Please contact the History Center at 315-735-3642 or visit oneidacountyhistory.org for additional information.