San Francisco Museum Of Craft+Design Opens In October 2004

Furniture World Magazine

The San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design -- a new museum dedicated to celebrating, promoting and fostering the art, artists and culture of contemporary craft and design -- opens in San Francisco’s Union Square district October 23, 2004. The Museum will showcase a rich series of diverse craft and design exhibitions and create a vital program of education and community outreach that infuses a modern interpretation in the traditional definition and understanding of craft and design. Over time, the Museum will build and interpret a permanent collection. The Museum will be located in the space previously occupied by Tercera Gallery at 550 Sutter Street in San Francisco. Oakland-based architect and craftsman Alan Ohashi will redesign aspects of the existing setting, incorporating its architecturally significant qualities to create 3,000 square-feet of inviting Museum space. Following its grand opening this fall -- and as an introduction to the public -- the new Museum will be open to the public free of charge through the end of the year. “The interplay in society of the two entities of craft and design reflects a marriage of art, life and labor,” said JoAnn Edwards, co-founder and executive director of the museum. “The Museum is committed to exploring the widest view of this important relationship with an eye toward how this interplay affects social relevance, the ways in which it inspires daily lives and the skills required for its creation and implementation.” The San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design will include both indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces and will feature all craft and design media, including: wood (i.e., studio furniture, sculpture and turning), clay, fiber, metal and glass. Its exhibitions will provide the public an opportunity to see and experience the entire process from the design of an object, through its creation and finally, to its completion. On occasion, visitors will be able to sit in a handcrafted chair or bench or open an intriguing cabinet. The new Museum will present programs and speaker series with contemporary artists, collectors and design experts that parallel current exhibitions. These series will address the nature of craft and design in an unconventional and surprising way. The Museum also will offer creative and educational in-house and outreach programs that engage and inspire students and visitors. A store, where distinct jewelry, glass, ceramics, fiber, small pieces of furniture and other fine crafts and design pieces can be purchased, will be located just inside the Museum’s entrance. “There are only a handful of institutions nationally and internationally devoted exclusively to contemporary craft and design. These craft museums and centers are respected for exhibiting exemplary contemporary objects and providing the opportunity for future generations to study, understand and appreciate craft,” said Lloyd E. Herman, director emeritus, Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery and San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design advisory board member. “It seems fitting that the craft-rich region of the San Francisco Bay Area should have a vital museum to celebrate the work of the hand and heart.” The Museum will be open Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am – 5 pm, Thursdays from 10 am – 7 pm and Sundays from 12 pm – 5 pm. The Museum will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Memberships start at $35. About the San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design The San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design, a non-profit organization, was founded to celebrate and promote the art of contemporary craft and design by developing and hosting innovative exhibitions and creating vital education and community outreach programs. The Museum is located at 550 Sutter Street in San Francisco. To become a member, sponsor or for more information, please call 415-773-0303, email info@sfmcd.org or visit www.sfmcd.org. Board of Directors: JoAnn Edwards, president - - co-founder and executive director, San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design; owner, Tercera Galleries; trustee, The Furniture Society Seb Hamamjian, vice president - - co-founder and associate director, San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design; owner, Tercera Galleries Steve Kaplan, interim treasurer - - private investor Jan Schachter, secretary - - ceramist; board member, Palo Alto Art Center Foundation Susan Barry, independent curator Jack da Silva, educator and artist; founder & director Metal Art Workshops & Educational Retreat Marilyn da Silva, professor and program chair, Jewelry & Metal Arts, California College of the Arts; artist Pat House, vice chairman & co-founder, Siebel Systems; Board of Directors, Levi-Strauss & Co. John Lavine, editor, Woodwork Magazine; furniture maker; master member, Baulines Craft Guild Wendy Lea, managing partner, Chatham Group Ken Riding, president, The Riding Group, real estate development Nancy Selvin, ceramist; president, board of directors, Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts Jamienne S. Studley, president, Public Advocates, Inc. Advisory Board: Lois G. Anderson, crafts advocate and collector Dr. Suzanne Baizerman, Imogene Gieling Curator of Crafts and Decorative Arts, Oakland Museum of California Sylvia Bennett, craft advocate and collector Virginia Breier, owner Virginia Breier Contemporary & Traditional Crafts Vallie Brown, northern CA educational director, Princeton University Arts & Development Linda Brownrigg, exhibition planning, small book publishing, crafts advocate and collector Ted Cohen, exhibition designer for museums and collectors; honorary fellow, American Craft Council Donald Fortescue, associate professor and chair, Wood & Furniture program, California College of the Arts Brian Gladwell, educator and furniture maker Andrew Glasgow, executive director, The Furniture Society; Board of Directors, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Craft Organization Development Association and The Center for Craft, Creativity and Design Marc Grainer, crafts advocate and collector Ana Lisa Hedstrom, fiber artist; fellow, American Craft Council Lloyd E. Herman, founding director, Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery; honorary fellow, American Craft Council; honorary board member, James Renwick Alliance; lecturer, American Crafts; independent curator and writer Carina Hopkins, crafts advocate and collector Robyn Horn, wood turner and sculptor; crafts advocate and collector David Landis, collector and president, Landis Communications Inc. Robert Milnes, director and professor, School of Art & Design, San Jose State University; ceramist Kevin Nierman, founder, Kids N Clay Teaching Studio for Children; ceramist Joanne Rapp, founder & director, The Hand and The Spirit; founder & director, Joanne Rapp Gallery; crafts consultant and advocate Gregory Sterling, financial development Barbara Waldman, trustee, American Craft Council; director, Founder’s Circle of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design; Acquisition Committee, James Renwick Alliance; crafts advocated and collector Susan Working, director, Furniture Program, Anderson Ranch Arts Center; furniture maker Ronald C. Wornick, wood turner, crafts advocate and collector Elisabetta Zanardi, collector