Today, January 25, 2020, The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, the country’s oldest non-profit organization promoting and supporting fine craft and the artists who make it, will close both its gorgeous exhibition space and retail gallery. The organization, facing harsh economic realities, has made a brave decision to step back and reassess the best way to move forward with its mission. In the interim they will continue to mount their two signature shows, Craft Boston Spring and Craft Boston Holiday. Please continue to support them and read this as a wake up call. The arts, all of the arts, need our support, now more than ever. Let’s all do whatever we can. No amount of support is too small.
On a more personal note, in 2007, in the very early days of my adventures as a new fiber artist, Craft Boston was the first high end juried show that invited me to exhibit my work. An emeritus board member even purchased a necklace. Her daughter later told me, “My mom has seen more fine craft than you can imagine. She loves your work and bought a piece saying that she’d never seen anything like it. Be happy!” That affirmation alone has fueled my resolve on days of doubt along the way. After a long foray into publishing designs, writing a book and teaching all over the country, I made the decision to return to full time studio work to attempt to gain entry into juried shows once again. And don’t you know that Craft Boston was the first show to welcome me back last year. I’ll be returning this spring (more about that in upcoming posts) and will be forever grateful to all those at The Society of Arts and Crafts for all they have done and will no doubt continue to do for artists everywhere. Thank you. And Onward!
