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Basketry is widely accepted as the oldest known form of craft. Since ancient times people have constructed baskets to fill specific needs: to collect, carry, display, or store. Through the centuries, the basket has remained an integral part of daily life in many cultures. Even in contemporary western society, awash in high-tech gadgetry, nothing has yet replaced the wastebasket, the picnic basket, and the shopping basket: low-tech but essential articles.

For the past quarter-century, artists have been taking the simple basket form and pushing it in new and exciting directions, creating objects infused with content and meaning. Working within already broad traditions, the artists in No Boundaries: Contemporary Basketry are inventing new methods of construction, often using highly unconventional materials, and creating both utilitarian and nonutilitarian vessels, even abstract sculptures. In the process, they transform the everyday into the exotic.

The work of some of the most innovative American basketry artists is on view in No Boundaries. The exhibition comprises approximately 30 works by 12 artists—most from the United States and one from Japan.

No Boundaries: Contemporary Basketry is organized by The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, the oldest nonprofit crafts organization in the country and a leader in the American crafts movement at the turn of the last century. The educational programming potential for this exhibition is virtually inexhaustible and could include hands-on activities that invite children and adults to explore the materials and techniques of basketry.