Museum of Contemporary Craft
| Museum of Contemporary Craft | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Portland, Oregon | |
| Established | 1937 |
| Location | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°31′28″N 122°40′40″W / 45.524444°N 122.677759°W |
| Type | private: art |
| Director |
Namita Gupta Wiggers (Director and Chief Curator) CEO Tom Manley (President, Pacific Northwest College of Art) |
| Website | museumofcontemporarycraft.org |
The Museum of Contemporary Craft based in Portland, Oregon is the oldest continuously-running craft institution on the west coast of the United States. Located in downtown Portland’s Pearl District, the museum's mission is "to enliven and expand the understanding of craft and the museum experience."
History
Lydia Herrick Hodge founded the Museum in 1937 with the support of a group of dedicated women volunteers, and using donated materials from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Originally called the Oregon Ceramic Studio, the studio building first opened in 1938. Lydia Herrick Hodge led the OCC as the studio director from 1937 until her death in 1960. Ken Shores became the first paid director in 1964, changing the name in 1965 from The Oregon Ceramic Studio to Contemporary Crafts Gallery to better reflect the breadth of work shown at the institution. The institution became known as Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery in 2002, and Museum of Contemporary Craft in 2007.
Today the organization is a museum and a resource for the community. It houses a growing collection, of over 1200 objects that document the active role of both the Museum and the Pacific Northwest in the evolution of craft over the past seven decades.
Partnership with PNCA
In January 2009, the Museum of Contemporary Craft integrated with the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), making the joint institution one of the largest organizations devoted to the visual arts in the state of Oregon.[1]
Location
MoCC has occupied two locations. Its first location, 3934 SW Corbett Avenue, was home to the museum for 70 years. The art deco style building was designed by architect Ellis Lawrence, first dean of the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts. The building underwent several renovations, most notably in 1998 when the Marlene Gable Gallery was built, designed by Northwest Regional style architect William Fletcher. The Marlene Gable Gallery served as the permanent collection space.
In 2005 the museum board decided to move the museum’s location. In July 2007 the museum relocated to its current location, 724 NW Davis Street, in the Historic DeSoto Building on Portland’s North Park Blocks. The new location has increased foot traffic and visibility for the museum. [2]
The Gallery Store at the Museum of Contemporary Craft
The Gallery Store at Museum of Contemporary Craft is a retail space for craft and design, featuring artists from the Pacific Northwest and outside the region. The Gallery Store makes available a range of kinds of objects created by artists working in ceramics, glass, jewelry, wood, metal, fiber and mixed media.
References
- ↑ "Museum of Contemporary Craft: History". Retrieved 2011-08-30.
- ↑ "Run Up to the DeSoto Opening, Part VI". The Oregonian. July 18, 2007.
