September 12, 2019 - December 4, 2020
“The Clay Studio inspires curiosity and discovery around the art and craft of clay, drawing together students, artists, and an engaged public into a welcoming community.”
Philadelphia’s world-renowned Clay Studio, founded in 1974 by 5 artists, has flourished into a ceramic arts center that today, serves more than 35,000 people every year. It is described as a “place of creativity and community, where the emerging professional and the dedicated amateur can be inspired by the art and craft of ceramics.” The Clay Studio is a unique cultural venue that offers numerous programs both in-house and within the community “to deepen the connection between people and clay.”
Their varied clay-centric programming and offerings include classes, workshops, exhibitions, studio spaces, residencies, community activations, demonstrations, and hands-on art instruction to underserved students through the award-winning Claymobile program.
This exhibition features selected work by The Clay Studio’s current resident artists—a 5-year program for emerging ceramic artists from around the world. The Resident Artist Program offers “professional track ceramic artists the opportunity to further develop their work, to establish professional contacts and standards, and to work within a community of like-minded individuals in an urban environment.”
The Clay Studio’s proven success, particularly with community engagement, has strained the capacity of their original building, currently located in Philadelphia’s center city neighborhood known as Old City. In Fall 2019, The Clay Studio will break ground on a new arts center in the city’s neighborhood called South Kensington—an urban residential community where 27% of its residents live below the poverty level. Because of this, and because The Clay Studio has historically championed outreach, the move to a new facility and neighborhood underscores its promise “to deepen the connection between people and clay.” It’s their goal to “establish an increasingly outward-looking mission that will focus on new youth and public programming” while continuing their legacy of serving artists and the arts community.
Visit theclaystudio.org.
