Our Capital Campaign

The Case for Support

Read the case for support of our capital campaign, "Clay Together" view .pdf

Our Vision

The Clay Studio envisions a place where creativity is taken seriously. We are a creative engine for our community and a destination where all people can explore the vast world of clay. We are a place where artists have the opportunity to shape their careers and the public has access to the best art-making studios. We are a place where individuals from all walks of life are provided with the opportunity to freely express themselves. 

The new Clay Studio will house the most technologically advanced art-making equipment, larger studio spaces, and more income generating opportunities. The new space will encourage collaboration among artists, welcome amateurs and professionals alike, and instill a love for ceramics among future generations.

When complete, the new Clay Studio will add to the cultural landscape of Philadelphia and will advance the field of ceramics across the country and around the globe.

Our Opportunity

For over 40 years The Clay Studio has operated in converted row homes, storefronts, and through adaptive reuse of loft warehouse space. In that time, The Clay Studio has grown from a collective of five artists to an institution that serves more than 35,000 people annually. The success of our programs and the rising demand for our services have led the Board to approve a growth agenda.

Participation in The Clay Studio’s programming has surpassed all expectations. In the past seven years, school attendance has quadrupled, tuition income has doubled, and new community engagement programs are reaching thousands of new individuals annually. The Clay Studio’s school and workshops consistently sell out, with workshop waiting lists reaching double digits. We are experiencing genuine capacity issues – impacting our ability to offer more programs and to process the artwork that is being made within our school and workshops. The Clay Studio is poised to take full advantage of this opportunity.

In order to remain a leader in the field and in Philadelphia’s cultural community, we have set ourselves the task of creating a facility that is a dynamic, flexible 21st century resource that will meet this rising tide of community demand and evolving artistic needs.

Our Plan

The new Clay Studio will be the first of its kind ceramic arts facility built from the ground up in the United States. Our new home will allow us to better animate our mission to create a unique learning environment to experience the ceramic arts.

We have designed a space that will bring together artists, art lovers, and people of all ages who are interested in working with clay. This new space will provide individuals with access to the process of making as well as the opportunity to see finished artwork. 

Improved artist space will encourage a free exchange of creative ideas and new career options. A new facility will serve three broad audiences (artists, the public, and youth) and create more efficient operations.

Our Moment

Over the past decade, there has been a cultural shift that marks a newfound respect for handmade objects, a new appreciation for the artisanal product, and a return to a do-it-yourself ethos and the maker movement. In addition to the growth in customers and students, we have seen the rise in artist entrepreneurs who are producing work on a replicable scale. With strategic focus and coordinated effort over the past five years, the Studio has placed itself ahead of this cultural shift and has benefited from these larger forces. A new space will allow us to realize our full potential in addressing these lasting cultural shifts.

All of this growth has brought us to this moment. Our programming needs have surpassed our physical capacity. Public support for our programs is at an all time high with larger cultural shifts accelerating more demand. Our current facility has limited ability to accommodate the amount and type of equipment we need to meet the needs of our artists and students.

The Clay Studio has engaged in a careful multi-year, multi-stage planning process. We have assessed our space needs, conducted market analysis, and planned for long-term business sustainability. Combined with the significant increase in demand, the Board has concluded that this is the right time to construct a specifically designed facility that will fuel our future growth.