From the Archive is a vignette of pinnacle moments in the 44 year history of the organization. For over 5 years, I have had the privilege of greeting individuals and groups as they walk into The Clay Studio for the first time, listening to stories of our extended community and watching the incredible transformative powers that clay has on individuals and groups alike.
Old City has been our home since 1974 and we have occupied our current home adjacent to Elfreth’s Alley for almost 30 years. Surviving a fire in 1980, The Clay Studio has grown exponentially over the years. One of the founders, Ken Vavrek stated, “if we thought it would become what it is today, we would have photographed more.” Pulling from a rich history of black and white photography and slides in the collection at The Clay Studio, each section is curated to begin a timeline that we can collectively start to fill in. It will take all of us to build the visual and oral history from the neighborhood and look forward to the future of our new neighborhood, South Kensington.
2019 will mark our 45th anniversary and on this occasion, we hope that you will join in telling your stories, sharing your photographs and memories of your involvement throughout our shared journeys in clay. Please let the staff know if you would like to share your photographs or stories. As we begin to digitize many of the primary sources we have in our archive, please stay tuned to upcoming events that will allow us to tell our story together.
Dominique Ellis
Retail Manager and Gallery Coordinator
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