Eleven KU art students have been selected to present their craftwork in the 39th annual Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Contemporary Craft Show. The show is presented every November by the Museum’s Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee for the benefit of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
“We were invited four years ago by the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Craft Show,” said Professor Michael Radyk, crafts area coordinator and assistant professor of crafts and textiles. “We are the only public university invited by them.”
This year is a competitive process, according to Radyk. Students were required to send images of their craftwork so that both himself and Professor David Rodgers, one of the craft’s faculty members, could evaluate and select who will participate in the show.
“This year we had decided to include current students, recent alumni and Pawling Award winners,” Radyk said.
The students who will be participating are as follows: Caroline Manzi, Beth Wilson, Emily Shaffer, Simone Evans, Alexandra
By Antaneyah Johnson
White, Melissa Way, Christina Shelly, Phil Vera, Corrine Kula, Amanda Seanor and Kimberly Abraham.
Corrine Kula, a senior at KU, said that she will be presenting ceramic vases and mugs. After experiencing the craft show, she expects to be able to grow as an artist.
“Hopefully they will give me both positive and negative feedback,” Kula said. “Their comments will make me look at my artwork in a different light, and it will help me create different ideas for next time.”
The craft show will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from Nov. 12 to 15.
For every purchase of an artwork, the Museum’s Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee aims to allocate the extra funding to underwrite education and publication projects within the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s special exhibits. A portion of each year’s proceeds is also dedicated to the purchase of a piece of artwork for the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s permanent collection.
For more information about the event, visit the KU visual and performing arts website on Facebook, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s website at pmacraftshow.org, or contact Professor Michael Radyk at radyk@kutztown.edu.
