The Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA) was formed in 1973 to preserve and promote blacksmithing as an art and a craft.

Mission statement

The ABANA mission statement reads:

We understand that a blacksmith is one who shapes and forges iron with
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
and
anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
. The artist- blacksmith does this so as to unite the functional with the aesthetic, realizing that the two are inseparable. We the members of the Artist-Blacksmiths' Association of North America do join in our resolve to perpetuate the noble art of blacksmithing. With hammer and anvil, we will forge for mankind a richer life. We will preserve a meaningful bond with the past. We will serve the needs of the present, and we will forge a bridge to the future. Function and creativity is our purpose. Our task is great and so is our joy.

History

The Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America was formed in 1973 with twenty-seven members. There are now 4000 members.

Publications

ABANA publishes two

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s: The Hammer's Blow and The Anvil's Ring.

Conferences

ABANA holds a biennial conference to education successive generations of blacksmiths and showcase modern and traditional blacksmithing to the general public. ABANA conferences typically have a gallery space to showcase the work of their members, educational spaces to provide hands-on demonstrations to all levels of smiths (novice to advanced), and demos by local and international demonstrators including artist-blacksmiths, farriers, bladesmiths, and toolsmiths. Each conference is held at a new location with the assistance of local ABANA affiliate blacksmith groups. Starting in 2021, ABANA held the first Iron to Art Festival which, in part, celebrated their new home office and museum space in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The past locations by year are as follows: 1973: Lumpkin, Georgia 1974: Lumpkin, Georgia 1975: Greenville, South Carolina 1976: Carbondale, Illinois 1978: Purchase, New York 1980: Santa Cruz, California 1982: Ripley, West Virginia 1984: De Pere, Wisconsin 1986: Flagstaff, Arizona 1988: Birmingham, Alabama 1990: Alfred, New York 1992: San Luis Obispo, California 1994: St. Louis, Missouri 1996: Alfred, New York 1998: Asheville, North Carolina 2000: Flagstaff, Arizona 2002: La Crosse, Wisconsin 2004: Richmond, Kentucky 2006: Seattle, Washington 2008: Canceled (was scheduled for New Paltz, New York) 2010: Memphis, Tennessee 2012: Rapid City, South Dakota 2014: Harrington, Delaware 2016: Salt Lake City, Utah 2018: Richmond, Virginia 2020: Canceled (was scheduled for Saratoga, New York) 2021: Iron to Art Festival, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 2022: Canceled (was scheduled for Denton, Texas)

References

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