PRESS RELEASE: Artists-in-Residence Brown Bag Lunch Talks at the Worcester Center for Crafts

Worcester, MA- Two brown-bag artists talks will be presented by The Worcester Center for Crafts on October 11 and October 18, from noon to 1:20pm. Admission is free and open to the public.  The talks will be given by the Center's Artists in Residence, artists at the beginning stages of their careers who spend a year or two at the Craft Center.  Visitors are encouraged to bring their own brownbag lunches and listen to the most current AiRs present their work. The talks will be held in the Carol and James Donnelly Library at the Center.

The Artists-in-Residence Program at the Craft Center is a way to "sustain craft" (our mission) and to insure the next generation of artists carrying on craft traditions. The program is open to artists in clay and glass and is designed to support the growth of pre-professional artists.

At the October 11 talk ceramic artists Faith Connor, Jon Glabus,and Ian Petrie will talk along with glass artists Amanda Nardone and Momo Shafer. At the October 18 talk ceramic artists Abby Nohai and Paige Ward will speak as well as glass artists McKayla Carville and Angela McHale. Connor, Shafer, McHale and Carville are from Massachusetts; Glabus is from Chicago; Petrie is from Minnesota; Nardone came to the Center from Philadelphia; Ward hails from Montana; and Nohai comes to WCC from New York state.

These talks are an opportunity for the public to learn more about the creative process and to see what these contemporary artists have explored to date in their mediums.

While at the Craft Center, the Residents are given a studio space, access to the specialized equipment of their craft, and advice and support through critiques and peer reviews to assist them in honing their studio practice. They are presented with a membership in Arts Worcester to encourage their activity in the regional art community and they have the opportunity to exhibit in a group show in the Center's Krikorian Gallery in the spring.

The Residents also provide service to the Craft Center as they learn more about the business of their field. While continuing the focus of their creative work, they are also given the opportunity to teach, mentor students, provide studio support and actively participate in the diverse studio communities that make up the Worcester Center for Crafts. 

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About the Worcester Center for Crafts:

The Worcester Center for Crafts (WCC) is one of the oldest non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856 as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Center evolved over the past 155 years into New England's leading center for craft education, exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility. The WCC offers the only comprehensive glass studio program in New England available to the public.  Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the WCC is home to the Worcester State University visual arts studios and partners in community outreach.

The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and through advocacy and public education initiatives including adult education classes and workshops, exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, its Youth Craft + Creativity program and major events. The WCC is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.