Stephen Burks (designer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stephen Burks
Stephen Burks at Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
Born	1969 Chicago
Education	Illinois Institute of Technology Columbia University
Known for	Hand-crafted furniture and design objects
Awards	National Design Award

Stephen Burks (born 1969) is a famous American designer and a professor at Columbia University. He is well-known for working with skilled artisans and using traditional crafts like weaving in his modern product designs. Stephen Burks was the first African American person to win the National Design Award for product design.

Early Life and Learning

Stephen Burks was born in Chicago in 1969. He studied architecture and product design. He went to the Illinois Institute of Technology and Columbia University. These schools helped him learn how to create amazing designs.

Stephen Burks' Design Journey

Burks started his own design studio in New York in 1997. It was first called Readymade. His special style, which mixes craftsmanship and working with artisans, began around 2000. This was when the Italian design company Cappellini started making his designs.

In 2003, the fashion house Missoni asked him to create designs for them. He designed patchwork vases, which were some of the first handmade items from his studio. He has worked with many companies. These include Bolon, Calligaris, Dedon, Luceplan (a lighting company), and Salvatori (a marble company).

Working with Artisans Worldwide

In 2005, Burks traveled to South Africa. He worked with talented artisans from countries like South Africa, Senegal, and the Philippines. This trip was supported by Aid to Artisans. There, he started creating hand-crafted furniture, baskets, and fashion accessories. These items later became a big part of his famous work.

Burks started his own design business in 2007. This happened after he met Willard Musarurwa. Willard was a street vendor who made wire souvenirs for tourists. They met at a design institute in Cape Town. Together, they launched TaTu wire outdoor furniture. This business focused on furniture and objects made in a hand-crafted style.

Exhibitions and Recognition

In 2011, Burks had his own special art show. It was called "Stephen Burks: Man Made" at the Studio Museum in Harlem. In this show, he displayed how he combines traditional craftsmanship with modern design. The exhibition featured his work made with artisans from South Africa, Senegal, and Peru.

In 2015, Stephen Burks won the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for product design. He was the first African American to receive this honor. In 2019, he became the first product designer to get a Harvard Loeb Fellowship. After that, he worked as an expert at the Harvard Innovation Lab. He also taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

His designs are now in many important museums. These include the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the High Museum of Art, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. His work is also in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Vitra Design Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Corning Museum of Glass. A traveling exhibition called "Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place" started at the High Museum of Art in 2022.

Stephen Burks' Unique Style

Stephen Burks is known for working directly with handcraft artisans. He often works with people who weave baskets. He loves to bring these traditional craft skills into his modern designs. Burks says his goal is to "bring the hand to industry." This means he wants to connect handmade art with industrial production.

Exhibitions

• 2011 Stephen Burks: Man Made, Studio Museum in Harlem
• 2022 Stephen Burks: Shelter in Place, High Museum, Atlanta (a show that travels to different places)
• 2023 Stephen Burks: Spirit Houses, Volume Gallery, Chicago
• 2024 The New Transcendence, Friedman Benda Gallery, New York (a group show with other artists like Ini Archibong and Samuel Ross)

Awards and Honors

• Illinois Institute of Technology Alumni Professional Achievement Award
• Brooklyn Museum Modernism Young Designer Award
• Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Product Design (2015)
• Architektur and Wohnen Audi Mentor Prize
• 2008 United States Artists Target Fellowship
• Harvard Loeb Fellowship (2019)