JOIN US! The awards presentation: Thursday, December 3, at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport.
5:30 – 7:30 PM | Presentation starts at 6:00 PM. All supporters and friends of Yuri Kobayashi and the MCA are welcome to attend.
Registration is not required, but strongly encouraged.
Yuri Kobayashi to Receive the 2026 Maine Craft Artist Award
The Maine Crafts Association is proud to announce Yuri Kobayashi, furniture and sculpture artist, as the recipient of the 2026 Maine Craft Artist Award.
Since 2009, the association has presented these awards to recognize artists whose work demonstrates distinguished excellence and whose careers have made a meaningful impact on the craft community. Award benefits include a lifetime MCA Professional membership, a $10,000 honorarium of unrestricted funds, and future teaching and exhibition opportunities with the Maine Crafts Association. The 2026 award is supported by the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.
Recipients are selected by an appointed juror on behalf of the organization. Public nominations are considered against the following benchmarks: excellence in craftsmanship, inspired design, a singular voice or style, career and professional practice, and a dedicated career of service to the field. Kobayashi was selected by Perry Price, the Executive Director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts.
“As a sculptor and furniture maker, Yuri Kobayashi demonstrates throughout her body of work a dedication to a compelling and inspiring vision of craft for our contemporary moment. From large-scale installations to intimate furniture, Kobayashi’s understanding of her material and dedication to refined craftsmanship is marked by a singular voice in design and in fabrication – each piece is uniquely and unmistakably hers. Beyond her accomplishments as a maker is her talent and generosity as an educator. In spaces across Maine and throughout the country, Kobayashi’s thoughtful and inspiring instruction in workshops opens the studio to new voices and new ideas that advance the field into the future.” – Perry Price
YURI KOBAYASHI
Kobayashi’s work explores the expressive possibilities of wood through a combination of traditional woodworking techniques, technical precision, and imaginative form. The work can span from tabletop furnishings to full room installations, often using ash and steam-bending to create the forms. The result reflects poetic expressions of curiosity and emotion.
Now based in Midcoast Maine, Kobayashi was born in Japan, where she earned a B.A. in architectural design at Musashino Art University, then trained at the Shinrin Takumi Juku, a traditional wood training school located in Takayama City, known for its long history as a woodworking region. Following this, Kobayashi moved to the United States and received an MFA in furniture design from San Diego State University and taught the practice for over a decade at the Rhode Island School of Design. Kobayashi has exhibited nationally and been awarded several competitive residencies, grants, and fellowships, including the Windgate Artist-in-Residencies at SUNY Purchase, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Arizona State University Art Museum, and a 2024 Fellow of the American Craft Council.
For the past ten years, Kobayashi has called the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship home base for her practice, as an instructor, and as Lead Fellow. Her work there has made a lasting contribution to craft education through teaching, mentorship, and engagement with students learning woodworking in Maine and beyond.
AWARD CEREMONY
Kobayashi will be celebrated on December 3, 2026, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport. The ceremony will include tributes from guest speakers, remarks from Maine Crafts Association leadership, and the presentation of a handcrafted award pin and certificate.
Friends, supporters, and the public are warmly invited to register and join in honoring Kobayashi.
The 2026 Maine Craft Artist Awards are generously supported by the Maxwell | Hanrahan Foundation.