Some places you visit are well known and other places sneak up on you. By Western Hands snuck up on me. I expected a gallery; perhaps some furniture, some leather, some silver.
What I found was overwhelming. Here was a place where Western art is treated not as something beyond reach and behind glass, but as a living skill set. Western art is something crafted by hand, used in everyday life, and passed from one generation to the next.
By Western Hands is a nonprofit organization opened in 2018. It emerged as a combination of earlier efforts in Cody by the Western Design Conference and Cody High Style. They helped establish Cody as an important center for Western design.
Today, the gallery/museum/training school’s mission is education, conservation, and perpetuation of Western functional art. This means teaching the skills, preserving the traditions, and making sure these art forms do not disappear.
Ready to book your next fabulous vacation and need some help? Let me help you!
Related story: From Chocolate Bars to Dinosaur Bones
Related story: The Shipshewana Paradox: Where Amish Tradition Powers a Modern Economy
Leave a Reply