We invite you to join us for 
Material Curiosity by Design: Insiders Lunch and Tour with Laura Ackerman-Shaw
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 12:30pm-3:00pm
We will begin with a hosted luncheon at Descanso Restaurant 
5773 Wilshire Blvd. LA, CA 90036
And move to Craft Contemporary, just across the street.
5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036
 

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the exhibition Material Curiosity by Design at Craft Contemporary with Laura Ackerman-Shaw, daughter of Evelyn Ackerman (BFA 1945, MFA 1951) and Jerome Ackerman (BS 1951). Explore the prolific careers of midcentury designers Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman who played a central role in shaping postwar American taste through their vibrant contributions to California’s midcentury aesthetic. 

This intimate discussion will explore the Ackermans’ decades-long creative partnership, their approach to design, and the enduring impact of their work. Gain insight into their process and how their legacy connects to a new generation of artists featured in the exhibition and the interplay between design concepts and material sensitivity through personal insights. 

Over fifty years, the LA-based couple designed a diverse body of work across a wide range of techniques and media, from colorful mosaics and textiles to graceful ceramics and metalwork to sculptural wood carvings. This exhibition showcases objects and rarely seen preparatory materials from the family archives, shedding new light on their collaborative process and the ways they bridged the studio craft ethos with broader market scale. Their work is held in multiple museum collections including the Smithsonian, Los County Museum of Art and three Detroit institutions (DIA, Cranbrook, and The Henry Ford). 
Laura has been stewarding her parents’ award-winning design legacy with collections, publications, presentations, licensing, and scholarships. In 2010, in honor of her parents,

Laura established the Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman Endowed Scholarship for undergraduate art and design students in the School of Fine, Performing, and Communication arts and she currently has a “Design Legends” collection honoring her parents with the retailer CB2. Bonus, the Craft Contemporary gallery shop is a gem.

Please RSVP by Thursday, February 19, 2026

This event is complimentary, but please consider a gift to the 
Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman Endowment.
Make your gift here
 

Questions? Please reach out to April Hazamy- ahazamy@wayne.edu or 561-860-3297