<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_quote">Dear Friends of the Glass Lab,</div><div class="gmail_quote">With this note I am making a rare exception to the rule that this list will never be used for anything other than notifications about MIT Glass Lab sales and lectures.</div><div class="gmail_quote">But this one's important, and relevant to everyone who cares about crafts in Boston. </div><div class="gmail_quote">I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the <b>Society of Arts and Crafts </b>on Newbury Street. It's one of the premier venues - and probably the oldest one - for craft in the country, and has given a start to many a local artist, including yours truly. After 40 years at 175 Newbury Street, SAC is being forced to move due to the sale of the building they occupy.</div><div class="gmail_quote">However, if you read the letter by the new director Fabio Fernandez, you'll see that there is an extremely exciting new possibility on the horizon. If you are interested, please read on to see how you can help. Fabio has assured me that every letter of support counts. I'll certainly be writing one!</div><div class="gmail_quote">Email for Fabio Fernandez is: <a href="mailto:director@societyofcrafts.org">director@societyofcrafts.org</a><br></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">Happy Summer to all,</div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">Peter<br><br><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><div>Dear Peter:</div><div><br>I want to bring you up to date on our current Real Estate situation. As we anticipated, our landlord sold the building on June 1st so after 40 years at 175 Newbury Street, we must vacate by February 28, 2016. It is an exciting and critical time for SAC and finding an appropriate home in a short timeline will be challenging.<br><br>We have applied for 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space located in Boston’s Seaport. When developers build near the waterfront, they are required to set aside and subsidize space for non-profits. We were one of five organizations that submitted a proposal to occupy <a href="http://www.udr.com/uploadedFiles/UDR3/Communities/Pier_4/Galleries/BostonRA_RFI.pdf" target="_blank">100 Pier 4</a>, near the ICA. There are many positive aspects to the space and to relocating to the booming Innovation District.<br><br><font color="#b51a00" size="4">We need your/MIT's help!</font><br><br>Letters of support from you will make a difference to the decision makers. Our Board President, Alyda Dewhirst, and I ask that you write one letter to:<br><br>Julie S. Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture<br>William Licko, Pier 4 LLC <br>Richard McGuinness, Boston Redevelopment Authority</div><div>(Dear Ms. Burros, Mr. Licko, and Mr. McGuinness:)<br><br>Act quickly as the decision is pending - <font color="#b51a00">Please email me the letters by Monday June 22, 2015</font>. We will compile them and deliver them to City Hall!</div><div><br></div><div>Onward and upward,</div><div>Fabio</div><div><br></div><div>Fabio J. Fernández<br>Executive Director<br>The Society of Arts and Crafts<br>175 Newbury Street<br>Boston, MA 02116<br><a href="tel:617-266-1810%20x%2015" value="+16172661810" target="_blank">617-266-1810 x 15</a><br><a href="mailto:director@societyofcrafts.org" target="_blank">director@societyofcrafts.org</a><br></div><div><br></div><div><font color="#2c1376">p.s. Should you need them, the following templates provide suggested ways of organizing a letter of support in order to make a compelling case for the selection of SAC for the space at 100 Pier 4.</font></div><font color="#2c1376"> <br>Broad themes to be emphasized might include: SAC’s track record of success, its roles as an attractor, its dedication to public access and education, its commitment to the professional wellbeing of artists of many kinds, and the mutual advantages to SAC, the developer, and the city of Boston in having the organization placed at 100 Pier 4. Components of any of the templates can be mixed and matched to customize a letter of support that feels authentic to your vision of this special opportunity.<br> <br>Template #1<br>· Tell a brief personal story about your experience or knowledge of SAC that highlights specific aspects of its history of impact relevant to the site selection—for example, about its role as a hub in the community, its positive effects on the careers of artists, or any “firsts” in innovative programming that brought new ideas, people, or works of art into your life.<br>· Emphasize the importance of continuing to provide opportunities for a similar experience to future generations of artists and visitors in a new space at 100 Pier 4.<br>· Talking from your personal background, envision one possible way that a new space for SAC in this particular location will enable it to become a premier destination for artists, enthusiasts, or the general public.<br><br></font></div><div><font color="#2c1376">Template #2 <br>· Explain why you think the mission of SAC is particularly relevant to our contemporary moment in Boston and in the creative economy of the region. <br>· Emphasize ways in which the SAC is well positioned to become an anchor organization in the Waterfront district and/or to participate in Boston’s new cultural planning initiative.<br>· Elaborate on how its unique blend of activities—retail, curatorial, educational, community-building, etc.—would attract visitors and enhance the experience of living and working in this South Boston neighborhood.<br> <br>Template #3<br>· Describe ways in which the unique opportunity for SAC to relocate to 100 Pier 4 will be transformative—this new space and all that it makes possible represent the most important change for the organization in a generation.<br>· Emphasize the match between public and private interests, organizational need and civic priorities, and SAC mission and the cultural moment that this space represents.<br>· Imagine how the new space will allow its leadership, boards, and staff to carry forward the organization’s long history of providing public access to handmade items and knowledge about these ancient and still evolving processes of fabrication. If you wish, also describe aspects of this amazing moment in the history of craft and design arts that are relevant to the site selection—for example, wide-ranging experimentation with new technologies and materials, multi-disciplinary collaboration between experts in different media, or an invigorated spirit of entrepreneurism in reaching the public.</font></div><div><br><br>
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<br></div></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">Peter Houk<br>Director, Glass Lab<br>Department of Materials Science and Engineering<br>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</div>
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