Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts
The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts (also known as "The Bray") is a public, nonprofit, educational institution located 3 miles from downtown Helena, Montana, United States.
It was founded on the site of the former Western Clay Manufacturing Company in 1951 by brickmaker Archie Bray, a philanthropist and avid patron of the arts. Bray intended it to be "a place to make available for all who are seriously and sincerely interested in any of the branches of the ceramic arts, a fine place to work."
Although Bray died in 1953,[1] his foundation survived the 1960 closure of Western Clay and in 1984 purchased the abandoned brickyard building and kilns. Today the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts is internationally acclaimed[2] and the building is listed on the American National Register of Historic Places as the "Western Clay Manufacturing Company".
The artist residency program is the core of the foundation. Rudy Autio and Peter Voulkos were the first resident artists in 1951.[3] Their professor at Montana State College, Frances Senska, friends with Bray, encouraged them to take advantage of his clay studio. To pay their way, they worked in the brick factory during the day and created their own pottery in the evenings. They built the first building for their new residency program in the summer of '51.[3]
References
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- ^ Aarstad, Rich, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, and Brian Shovers. Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman Archived October 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Montana Historical Society Press.
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- The Archie Bray Foundation
- The Archie Bray Foundation Gallery
- The Archie Bray Foundation Clay Business
- Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts page at Craft in America
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MT-145, "Western Clay Manufacturing Company, Country Club Road, Helena, Lewis and Clark County, MT", 53 photos, 3 photo caption pages
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- Arts foundations based in the United States
- Education in Lewis and Clark County, Montana
- Non-profit organizations based in Montana
- Arts centers in Montana
- 1951 establishments in Montana
- Arts organizations established in 1951
- Tourist attractions in Helena, Montana
- Historic American Engineering Record in Montana
- Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana
- National Register of Historic Places in Helena, Montana
- American pottery