About Us

 About Us
Community Partners

Baltimore Clayworks affirms that working in partnership and in collaboration with cultural institutions, grassroots organizations, community development corporations, and public agencies strengthens our institutional capacity and intensifies our community impact. Since the mid 80's, Clayworks has crafted strategic alliances that have advanced its mission and extended its reach. Some of the most significant of these collaborations are the following:

Cultural Organization Partnerships

  • Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance—Clayworks assisted in its founding (1998) and continues to serve on its volunteer board of directors. In 2005 GBCA was instrumental in assisting Clayworks in hosting the NCECA link conference (attendance 5000+) and mounting Tour de Clay link, the country's largest ceramic art exhibition. GBCA continues to advocate for mid-sized artists' organizations in the Baltimore metro region.
  • National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts—The national professional association for the field of ceramics, NCECA hosted its 2005 conference (its largest ever) at the Convention Center in Baltimore (see above), with Baltimore Clayworks acting as sole liaison. Executive Director, Deborah Bedwell has served on the NCECA board and/or its advisory board since 2003. Baltimore Clayworks has mounted four exhibitions of the work of its member artists at NCECA conferences nationally, and numerous artists, staff, trustees, students, and volunteers attend NCECA the conference annually.

Collaborations with Institutions of Higher Education

  • Maryland Institute College of Art—Clayworks hosts internships for MICA students and works collaboratively to provide access for MICA students to Clayworks' workshops, slide lectures, and wood fire kiln. MICA was a key partner in Tour de Clay, hosting seven exhibitions and three public programs on its campus. MICA interns have become staff, teachers and resident artists in Clayworks' programs. MICA ceramics faculty, Ron Lang, curated Bonsai Insites and Doug Baldwin mounted a solo exhibition, both held in galleries at Clayworks. MICA and Clayworks are currently working together to establish a summer workshop series to launch in 2010.
  • Tainan National University of Fine Arts, Taiwan—Annually, Baltimore Clayworks hosts a recent or emerging graduate of this fine arts university for four months in its artist residency program; in kind, TNNUA hosts a Clayworks resident artist in its ceramics studio facility in the southern city of Tainan. Artist/educator Ching-Yuan Chang, our member artist and first fellowship recipient in 1990, heads his country's only MFA degree granting ceramics program in Taiwan. Ching-Yuan designed and created the mural on the new addition of the Clayworks' building.
  • University of Baltimore—In 2006-07 Baltimore Clayworks participated in UB's Social Enterprise program, ultimately creating eCeramica www.eCeramics.org, an online gift service. Clayworks continues to participate in the Director's Roundtable at the Entrepreneurship Center at University of Baltimore.
  • Berea College, Berea, Kentucky—Clayworks has provided internships for 12 Berea College students since the 90's. Five Berea alums. have served on staff; 25% of current Clayworks staff are Bereans. Current ceramic art faculty at Berea, Tina Gebhart, was a Clayworks resident artist and teacher. Articles about Baltimore Clayworks have been written in the Berea Alumnus magazine.
  • Other college/university partnerships include those with the following:

Partnerships with Community Organizations & Public Art

  • St. Frances Academy Community Center—In 2003 Clayworks began to work with St. Frances and its director Ralph E. Moore, Jr. to provide access to hands on art making with students at St. Frances and children in the surrounding Greenmount East neighborhood. St. Frances Academy, founded in 1828 by the Oblate nuns, changes the lives of inner city youngsters with a highly successful formula of academic excellence, individual attention, and high profile achievement in sports. In 2004, led by Leroy Johnson, an artist from Philadelphia, Baltimore Clayworks mounted a 350 sq.ft. mosaic mural, "And Still I Rise", honoring the history of the Oblates. Clayworks continues to offer classes at St. Frances in conjunction with other agencies.
  • Sheppard Pratt Health System/Forbush School—In 2007, Clayworks connected artists Myung Jin Choi with teens at Forbush to create a major sculptural piece "Safe Spaces" on the grounds on the Sheppard Pratt campus. Sheppard Pratt featured the piece as graphic emphasis throughout its annual report.
  • The Good Shepherd Center—In October 2008, Baltimore Clayworks and the Good Shepherd Center dedicated "Community Milagros", a major mural on the grounds of Good Shepherd. The center, located in Halethorpe, provides a continuum of services that combines treatment, residential and educational services for adolescent girls and their families who are experiencing personal, family and societal conflicts. With over 140 years of experience, the Good Shepherd Center has served over 30,000 girls and their families in Maryland. Clayworks connected Pittsburgh artist Laura Jean McLaughlin, local artists, MICA interns and Clayworks community arts staff with 55 girls who are in residential treatment, to produce a 500 ft. mural comprised of 42 mosaic self portraits.
  • Other partnerships that have a public art component:
    • Connexions Academy (underway)—Mosaic piece for the school on the Harlem Renaissance being created by student and Baltimore Clayworks Community arts co-director Herb Massie
    • Parkway Community Association—Mosaic identifying signage for this Inner city community created by artist Herb Massie and Parkway residents
    • Dunbar Middle School—Tile and mosaic panels permanently mounted in the entranceway, whose subject is the cultural and historic heritage of the neighborhood, created by Herb Massie and students
    • Waxter Center for Senior Citizens—350 ft tile mural entitled "When I Am in My Golden Years, I Will?", created by Waxter clients and Cleveland artist Angelico Pozo
    • East Baltimore Latino Organization—two projects: At Southeast Community Organization located at 10 N. Wolfe Street, "Recuerdos (remembrances)" two-part clay panels created by visiting Nicaraguan artist Rosalia Miller and students of EBLO, and tile tree surrounds installed on the 300 block of Broadway, in the Latino business district, created by Angelica Pozo and the students at EBLO.

Partnerships and Satellites

Studio Satellites
  • In 2002 during strategic planning sessions at Baltimore Clayworks, distilled information from constituents of the broad and diverse communities that we serve, led Clayworks to embark on an innovation in creating access to sustained hands-on arts programming the establishment of studio satellites. We define satellites as "a space dedicated to clay" located in underserved communities in which we craft a lasting partnership. To date, we have established one satellite, moved it twice, and are planning second on the horizon.
  • Clayworks Mondawmin 2003-2006. This studio, located in the former Bell Atlantic space, operated from July 2003 through August 2006 in partnership with the Greater Mondawmin Coordinating Council, the Parkway Community Association and the mall management. 900 unduplicated enrollments were taken at Baltimore Clayworks Mondawmin from young people, senior adults and many families for programs that included a variety of topics. The site gained in visibility and respect in the community for its excellent programs, offered for registration fees of only $5 -15 per eight-week term. While the satellite grew and prospered for three years, redevelopment plans (a new Target store) for the mall made continuing at that location impossible, and the site closed on August 31, 2006.
  • Forest Park 2006-07, In partnership with Forest Park Senior Center, in October 2006, the doors of our Forest Park satellite site were opened. In fall 2006, Bill Stewart, a New York artist, spent a month at Clayworks and at Forest Park where senior adults and teens of Baltimore interpreted the theme "Everyone Deserves an Ark." In spring 2007, Kyle and Kelly Phelps, visiting artists and professors from Ohio, came to Baltimore for five days to run a workshop titled "Figure in Relief" specifically targeted to our senior adults. Unfortunately, the building's state of disrepair and the presence of asbestos in our studio required that we find yet a new satellite home.
  • Clayworks Pimlico Road. 2007 to today ? In early 2007, Baltimore Clayworks partnered with the Northwest Community Development Corporation and the Pimlico Road Art and Community Association to found Clayworks Pimlico Road. Operating in the new Pimlico Road Art and Community building, Clayworks Pimlico Road offers activities for that neighborhood's young people, a burgeoning senior adult class population of 34, and Saturday classes for children citywide. Again, Clayworks' strategy of connecting high profile national artists with all of our community has brought Kyle and Kelly Phelps and David MacDonald to this satellite and a community in need.
  • Clayworks Jubilee—on the horizon in partnership with Newborn Holistic Ministries, Martha's Place and Jubilee Arts. Clayworks has been in conversation with organizers of Jubilee Arts, located in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore city. Jubilee developed as a grassroots effort by Newborn Holistic Ministries which through its Martha's Place program has expertise, stable funding and much community respect in running a successful community based program. To incorporate expertise in arts based programming, Newborn has built partnerships with Baltimore Clayworks and Maryland Institute College of Art. Jubilee will be located in a newly renovated building, whose construction will be complete in summer 2009.
  • Baltimore Clayworks is the only arts organization in the region that has developed, funded launched and operated satellite locations in inner city Baltimore. A great strength of the program has been to create residencies for academic ceramic artists (usually artists of color) who have a national profile, to enrich and strengthen our teaching pool and to broaden the experience for participants.
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