When The Clay Studio began in 1974, five ceramicists hoped to begin an artist collective. Today, The Clay Studio’s mission is to inspire curiosity and discovery around the art and craft of clay, and draw together students, artists, and an engaged public into a welcoming community. With a LISC investment, The Clay Studio was able to fund a portion of the construction and design work alongside environmental and permitting needs for a larger location to operate at its full potential. With community direction and support, the studio broke ground on their new 34,000 square foot South Kensington location in January 2020.
When The Clay Studio began in 1974, five ceramicists hoped to begin an artist collective. Today, The Clay Studio’s mission is to inspire curiosity and discovery around the art and craft of clay, and draw together students, artists, and an engaged public into a welcoming community. They live out that goal by providing shared space, classes and artistic partnerships. Clay Studio even has a satellite “Claymobile” that brings a pop-up studio to different parts of the city for kids and adults.
The Clay Studio had been located in Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood since the 1990’s but grew limited by the amount of kiln and display space they had available. Clay Studio was facing a double-digit waiting list due to a lack of adequate space to host students.
LISC provided a $1.65 million construction bridge loan as part of Clay Studio’s $14 million project to create a larger location that would allow the organization to operate at its full potential. With community direction and support, the Clay Studio broke ground on their new 34,000 square foot South Kensington location in January 2020.
This past month, The Clay Studio officially opened their new location to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Clay Studio’s new home base in South Kensington has a footprint 67% larger than their Old City location, and with it, room for larger classrooms for children and adults, professional artist studios, gallery exhibits, and community space. The new kilns nearly doubles their kiln capacity, allowing Clay Studio to support a greater number of classes and fellows. (Source: Philly Mag)
Clay Studio executive director, Jennifer Martin, spoke with NPR’s WHYY last month and shared that the new building, designed by local firm DIGSAU, has a dedicated space for each phase of ceramics alongside dedicated community space.
With their new space, Clay Studio worked to prioritize community needs in tandem with the organization’s every step of the way. “The building is literally designed around community and collaboration and exchange of ideas at every turn throughout the space,” Martin shared with WHYY. South Kensington has attracted several artists and artisan spaces recently, and Clay Studio put a high priority on engaging community members in Kensington during the planning process. During construction, Clay Studio invited neighbors to community workshops to build pieces collaboratively to live in the Clay Studio.
When you’re next in the South Kensington area, you can stop by to see those pieces, contribute to a collaborative sculpture, join open studio hours, watch resident artists at work, or view the Clay Studio’s ceramic artworks collection on display.