The Clay Studio will host a gala March 16 celebrating Ruth Snyderman, a longtime supporter of the studio and Philadelphia’s craft community.
Since the 1960s, Snyderman has been a juror, speaker, collector and community organizer in the arts community. She is also the co-owner, with her husband, Rick, of the Snyderman-Works Galleries.
“For almost 47 years now, we’ve been championing clay artists, from 1965 on,” Snyderman said about Clay Studio. “That would be the most important venue for us in this city.”
Snyderman said that, over the years, Clay Studio has helped showcase the work of artists at all stages of their careers.
“There are many artists that have moved away to other areas,” she said. “They’ve gone on to other galleries that are of the highest level. Garth Clark [Gallery] was the premiere gallery for ceramic and some of the artists from the Clay Studio were picked up by him.”
When asked how the arts scene in Philadelphia has changed since the Clay Studio opened, Snyderman said there’s now a bigger audience for artists that there was in the 1960s and ’70s.
“There are more people coming around to all the galleries that used to be more spread out. But our area has many of the galleries for furniture and glass and ceramics,” she said. “People are more interested than they were when the Clay Studio first started. The Clay Studio now has a national name. It’s probably the most respected nonprofit center for clay in the entire country.”
The Clay Studio’s gala, “It’s All About Ruth,” besides celebrating Snyderman’s impact on the arts community, is also a fundraiser and auction to benefit the LGBT-friendly organization’s studio-arts and education programs.
“They have something called the Claymobile, which is a van that goes around to schools that don’t have facilities to teach young children how to work in clay,” Snyderman said of the studio’s educational programs. “They also have classes in the Clay Studio, have a camp for students in the summer and an exhibit of the work of the Claymobile students once a year.”
The Clay Studio hosts “It’s All About Ruth” 6:30 p.m. March 16 at Dorrance Hamilton Hall at University of the Arts, 320 S. Broad St.
For more information or tickets, visit www.theclaystudio.org/support/gala.php.