Our Neighbors & Friends

Connecting Through Clay

Clay Fest

Clay Fest is a free weekend public festival at The Clay Studio, featuring hands-on, family-friendly activities throughout the day. The fun begin at 10 a.m. and includes: practice at the potter’s wheel, wheel throwing demos, group handbuilding, bowl decorating, an ice cream social, music, and more.

This community program is made possible with a grant provided through the PNC Arts Alive initiative. This is a very prestigious grant award—just 22 arts organizations in the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey region were selected for bold thinking around increasing arts access and engagement, and The Clay Studio was one.

Hands On Clay

On First Fridays throughout the summer participants learn the basics of working with clay from The Clay Studio’s teaching artists. From learning to throw on a pottery wheel, to sculpting with clay, or creating your own clay animation, there is something for everyone.

The Clay Studio invites people of all ages to use their imaginations as clay and creativity come together in The Clay Studio’s series Hands On Clay, funded by PNC Arts Alive. Free and open to the public, this series uses clay to break the barriers of who is creative by welcoming all to participate.

Hand Crafted

Hand Crafted is the name for our social, experience-based series of events that celebrate the functionality of one-of-a-kind ceramic objects. Focused on themes like artisanal food and spirits, craft beer, flowers, DIY culture, and farm-to-table dining, these events bring to light the relevance of art and craft in our everyday lives by contributing to the dialogue about shared traditions, the maker movement, and sustainability.

The Clay Studio is committed to broadening the understanding of the hand crafted in our lives, and in the process strengthening connections among sustainable businesses and like-minded organizations. Ultimately, it's all about the joy that handmade goods can bring to people.

Spruce Street Harbor Park

Named one of the best places to visit in Philadelphia by national press, Spruce Street Harbor Park sustained by Univest features colorful hammocks, floating gardens, beautiful lights, refreshing craft beer, and food from popular Philly restaurants, making it a summer gathering space for locals and visitors alike.

The Clay Studio events at Spruce Street Harbor Park are free and part of our Hands On Clay series, presented by PNC Arts Alive.

Play Everywhere Projects

Learn more about The Clay Studio's Play Everywhere projects at the Cecil B. Moore and Kensington branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Lead project support provided by Kaboom! and the William Penn Foundation.