In order to maintain the health and safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Peters Valley School of Craft has made the difficult decision to suspend all scheduled workshop programming through the end of 2020. The school’s studios, galleries, administrative offices, and other buildings on campus will also be temporarily closed to the public until further notice.
We did not come to this decision lightly, and we share this news with a great deal of sadness. Ultimately, the health and safety of our students, instructors, volunteers, visitors, staff, and community is our top priority. Peters Valley is a place where people come to gather in classrooms, share tools, eat together, and dorm in close quarters. Because of these close personal interactions, we felt this was the most responsible decision we could make at this time.
As you may know, our staff works year-round to program, plan and facilitate the coming together of artists and students to share knowledge, curiosity and discovery each season. We look forward with so much anticipation for the beginning of spring to arrive and reinvigorate our studios with creativity. To say we will greatly miss this energy on campus this year is an understatement.
Although onsite programs and access have been suspended, Peters Valley’s staff will continue to work remotely. We are available for you, should you need anything from us. We are working on creating new, online initiatives to continue to provide creative inspiration to our community during this time. We have developed an Artist Resource page, and will be sharing additional videos, blog posts, and artist updates via our social media pages. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We have exciting online exhibitions planned through our Gallery, as well, including one featuring the instructors who would have taught during the upcoming season.
During this time, we plan to tackle important projects on campus (while following social distancing protocol). This includes rebuilding our Noborigama Kiln, a project generously funded by our supporters; restoring Valleybrook Farm House, with support from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area; and freshening up our studios. We look forward to sharing these improvements with you as soon as campus can be opened back up.
In the meantime, if you’d like more information regarding Peters Valley’s COVID-19 policies, please read through our FAQ. If your question remains unanswered, please send an email to info@petersvalley.org. We’d be happy to help you.
We remain incredibly appreciative of your dedicated support and we look forward to welcoming you back to campus again when it is safe to do so!
Kristin Muller, Executive Director
Brienne Rosner, Gallery and Craft Fair Director
Peters Valley School of Craft
Layton, N.J.