Contemporary Craft is leaving the Strip District’s Produce Terminal for a new home in Lawrenceville. At a news conference Thursday, the arts group will outline a $5.5 million plan to buy and renovate a former manufacturing facility as its new headquarters.
By the end of this year, Contemporary Craft will move from the Produce Terminal, its home for the past 33 years, into a 13,500-square-foot building at 5637 Butler St. That structure housed Em-Bed-It, Inc., a company that made commemorative toys, plaques, tombstones and trophies.
McCaffery, the Chicago-based company that is redeveloping the Produce Terminal, is contributing $1.3 million to Contemporary Craft’s relocation. The $1.3 million will come in the form of four payments, according to a report accompanying the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority agenda.
As part of Thursday’s board vote to authorize construction, the URA would front up to $1 million to Contemporary Craft for relocation and be reimbursed by McCaffery.
After renovations, the former manufacturing building building will have 2,500 square feet of exhibition space, 1,800 square feet of flexible studio space for workshops or lectures and 1,100 square feet for a retail shop and visitors lounge. Construction is scheduled to begin in July and opening is set for March 2020.
“Our new home represents a transformational moment for Contemporary Craft,” executive director Janet McCall said.
“We have an opportunity now to reach an even wider audience for our diverse range of nationally renowned exhibitions, further our commitment to local artists, and expand our extensive public and student education,” Ms. McCall said in a prepared statement.
The former manufacturing facility is two stories at the front facing Butler Street. At the back, 15-foot ceilings will allow architects at GBBN to “really celebrate the kind of utilitarian nature of the building and the space,” said Anne Chen, a principal at the architectural firm.
The building is “so nondescript” that it is only distinguished by pink and gray stripes painted on the front, Ms. Chen said. “We’re not keeping that.”
When visitors enter the renovated building, they will immediately see the exhibition space, studios, education area and retail shop. The building’s second floor will house offices, Ms. Chen said.
Elizabeth Rockwell Raphael, a leading figure in the contemporary craft movement, founded what was then called the Society for Contemporary Crafts in 1971. She wanted to expand opportunities for artists to exhibit and sell their work. She was the daughter of the late industrialist Willard F. Rockwell and his wife, Clara.
Mrs. Raphael died in 1998. The organization she started has curated more than 250 exhibitions by more than 2,400 artists, produced more than 80 exhibition catalogs and brochures, offered hundreds of artist-led workshops and education programs and established a satellite exhibition space in the Cultural District in Downtown.
Contemporary Craft will become the “cultural gateway for Upper Lawrenceville,” said Matthew Galluzzo, executive director of Lawrenceville Corp.
Marylynne Pitz: mpitz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1648 or on Twitter:@mpitzpg
First Published: February 14, 2019, 1:14 a.m.
