Haystack Mountain School of Crafts at 75: Sustaining Craft for Future Generations
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts is focused on ensuring its sustainability for the next 75 years. Founded in December 1950, the school is situated on an island 50 miles south of Bangor, Maine, with a campus designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes. It provides two-week workshops in ceramics, woodworking, and weaving, promoting a nonhierarchical environment without offering degrees. The campus, finished in 1961, received a 25-year award from the AIA and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Renowned faculty members have included Anni Albers and Dale Chihuly. Haystack is responding to challenges in arts education by improving accessibility and installing solar panels.
Key facts
- Haystack Mountain School of Crafts celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026.
- The campus was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes and completed in 1961.
- The school is located on an island 50 miles south of Bangor, Maine.
- Haystack was founded in December 1950.
- It offers two-week workshops in weaving, ceramics, and woodworking.
- The school does not award degrees and is open to students of any age or experience.
- In 1974, it hosted a three-week African Session with artists including Joyce Scott.
- Haystack opened a digital fabrication studio called the FabLab in 2011.
- The school received a grant to install solar panels.
- The campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.
- Executive Director Perry Price emphasized the importance of craft as embodied knowledge.
- The school is working on making the campus universally accessible.
Entities
Artists
- Edward Larrabee Barnes
- Joyce Scott
- Wilhelmina Godfrey
- Winnie Owens Hart
- Anni Albers
- Jack Lenor Larsen
- Wendell Castle
- Sheila Hicks
- Wendy Maruyama
- Dale Chihuly
- Robert Arneson
- Kay Sekimachi
- Trude Guermonprez
Institutions
- Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
- Black Mountain College
- Penland School of Craft
- Cranbrook Academy
- AIA
- California College of the Arts
- University of the Arts in Philadelphia
- The Art Institutes
Locations
- Maine
- Bangor
- Montville
- Boston
- United States