Hear our story!
saturday, april 9 | 11 am - 3 pm
The Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting
The public opening of our new location at 1425 N American Street took place on April 9, 2022, and the whole facility was open for all to see and enjoy. The Clay Studio has been a leader in the national and international ceramic world for nearly 50 years, and our new state-of-the-art ceramic facility now increases our ability to serve artists, students, and the local community and to highlight the power of clay as a force for good. As we take the first steps in the next chapter of our history, we look forward to writing it with you.
view the flyerIn the News
from WHYY: The Clay Studio opens new building in Kensington, for Kensington
from Philadelphia Magazine: A Look Inside The Clay Studio’s Massive New Space in South Kensington
from Philadelphia Business Journal: First look: Inside The Clay Studio's new $14.5M South Kensington arts building
from Philly Voice: The Clay Studio's new building in South Kensington features more classrooms, artist workspace
from Al Día: The Clay Studio in Philly to open new, 34,000-square-foot South Kensington location
from The Architect's Newspaper: The Clay Studio reflects skilled craftwork inside and out in Philadelphia’s South Kensington neighborhood
from WHYY: New Philly mural honors The Roots’ Tariq ‘Black Thought’ Trotter
FAQs
- How do I get to 1425 N American Street?
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BY SUBWAY: Market Frankford Line (MFL) to the Girard Station then a 10-minute walk
BY BUS: 5 Bus to 2nd & Girard then a 6-minute walk
57 Bus to Germantown Ave & Master Street then a 3-minute walkBY CAR: Google Maps search here
Indego Philly has a bike share station at 3rd & Girard
PhillyCarShare (now known as Enterprise CarShare) vehicles are available at 6th & Girard
- Is there parking nearby?
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There is ample unmetered street parking on N. American Street and the surrounding side streets.
In additon, there is a parking lot on 1320 N Front St. click here to see their rates.
- How many classrooms and students are there?
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With our new building, we now have 5 classrooms, which triples our previous classroom space by 193%. This increase in size means that we are able to offer more classes, and we now have additional dedicated space for youth instruction and after-school programs.
Fun fact: In our new space, we now have spaces for wheel throwing and handbuilding on all 4 floors!
- What types of kilns do you have?
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We have both electric and gas kilns in various sizes, including a small gas kiln and a large car electric kiln. We also have a soda kiln. Overall, now we have 88% more kiln capacity than we did at our previous building.
You can view a complete list of our kilns, here >
- How many Resident Artists are there?
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The Clay Studio has studios for 12 Resident Artists. These studio spaces are 27% larger than at our previous home. In addition, a major grant from the Windgate Foundation in 2021 has allowed us to offer greater financial support to each Resident Artist. The normal Program Fee/Rent ($200/month) will be completely waived, and each Resident will be offered a Fellowship granting a $250/month stipend.
In addition to our Resident Artist program, our new building's Guest Artist in Residence program will be able to accommodate two visiting artists at any given time. The Guest Artist in Residence program provides:
- A studio housed within The Clay Studio
- Studio Support and Materials
- A modest monthly stipend
Guest Residencies vary from four to eight weeks, but both shorter and longer residencies have occurred to accommodate an artist's schedule or to allow for a larger project.
- How has The Clay Studio worked to join our new community with respect?
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- Through increased Claymobile activity in the surrounding area, such as community projects with local libraries
- 5 years of projects to get to know the neighbors, such as Community Maker Days and Clay & Conversation
- Through a new community-centered exhibition design process
- Through partnerships with local organizations
Background
- The Clay Studio's History
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Read about our founding in 1974, and our major milestones since then, here >
- The Building's Construction Progress
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Groundbreaking for our new building, designed by DIGSAU Architects, took place on January 15, 2020. View the .pdf celebrating that day and the generous donors who made it possible.
View photos of the building's construction progress here >
- Building Ties with the South Kensington Community
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Several years before our groundbreaking, we held a series of workshops, events, and conversations with the South Kensington neighbors and community organizations, asking them how we could fit into their lives.
One of these series was called Clay and Conversation.
Another series was Community Maker Days.
Even prior to these events, our Claymobile program was headquartered for years in the Crane Arts building, just across the street from our new building. With our new facility, we are now able to bring the Claymobile operations in-house and to integrate the program with our other activities. The Claymobile Studio space increased 108% in our new building.
Thank You!
MAJOR DONORS TO THE CAMPAIGN FOR OUR NEW HOME
Windgate Foundation
Zeldin Family Foundation
Jill Bonovitz
The William Penn Foundation
Joseph & Joseph Field
Kim & Adam Kamens
Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation
The Connelly Foundation
Nancy Hays
Franz Rabauer
Michael Lukasek
The Mayor's Fund for Philadelphia
Marlin Miller
Linda Jacobsen
Richard & Dale Levy
Penn Treaty Special Services District
Fleur Bresler
James Fulton & Eric Rymshaw
Local Initiatives Support Corp. Philadelphia
Marie & Joseph Field
Larry Kent
Martin Zeldin
Judy Pote
Timothy & Alexandra Levin
Amy Williams
Claire & John Rodgers
Susan Muller
Constance Spiegle
Independence Foundation
The Hollenstein Ross Family Foundation
David & Hallee Adelman
Margot Palley & Jeffrey Bladen
Sybille Zeldin
Brenda Levin
The McLean Contributionship
Jonathan Ketzner
Leah Kaplan & Jon Smollen
Heeseung Lee & Aaron Ashley
Robert Kirkpatrick
Brian & Lindsey Bernhardt
Frank & Frank Robertson
The Clay Studio
Ellyn Rosenfeld
Chuck Morris & Margot Sklar
Arnold Weiss
Judith Tannenbaum
Susan & Alfred Denenberg
Josie Bockelman & Roger Armen
Clara & Bentley Hollander
Harbourton Foundation
John A and Margaret Post Foundation
The Owen Family Foundation
Soma Bockelman
Sergio Coscia
Grant Greapentrog
Janie Gross
Yoko Hanazono
Daphne & Michael Hawkins-Parker
Marjorie & Jeffrey Honickman
Jason & Lauren Martin
Raina & Jigar Mehta
Elizabeth & Elizabeth Mily
Jean & Frank Robertson
Marianne Tebbens
Etta Winigrad
Edward Zwilling & Elizabeth Mily
Timothy & Ann Duffield