Sawtooth School for Visual Art and Salem College, both in Winston–Salem, NC, are proud to present Seating Assignment: Women in Contemporary Chairmaking and Craft Education, an exhibition featuring 15 contemporary women artists who specialize in furniture making and view education as a core component of their practice. The exhibition, on display at Sawtooth’s Eleanor and Egbert Davis Gallery, will open with a reception on Saturday, March 23, 2024, from 5-7 pm and remain on view through Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Seating Assignment is a joint effort, bringing together two landmark Carolina institutions focused on community education and enrichment. Sawtooth has been a hub for arts education in the Piedmont Triad for almost 80 years, offering classes for all ages across many subjects. Salem College is now in its 252nd year as an institution of higher learning for women, the oldest in the southern United States, and is ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in the nation.
The inspiration for this exhibition came from another partnership: Salem’s Chair Library, a collaborative effort between the Sutton Initiative for Design Education (S.I.D.E.) and Salem College, is a unique resource not found at any other college or university in the country. The SIDE Chair Library is a growing archive of almost 50 chairs still in production and considered historically significant in the design field. Salem students, scholars, design professionals, and community members can not only visit the library to study these chairs; they are encouraged to interact with them—sit in them, turn them upside down, measure them, and ponder their design, construction, and materials.
Salem College’s women art and design students are the primary users of The SIDE Chair Library; however, their gender is not equitably represented by the designers featured. Initially conceived as a presentation for students from furniture maker, craft advocate, and Sawtooth’s 2023 Gondring Resident in Woodworking Rebecca Juliette-Duex, Seating Assignment has evolved into a first-of-its-kind survey exhibition highlighting contemporary female furniture makers and providing students and community members a practical opportunity to see themselves reflected in the field of contemporary craft.
“We’re proud to host Seating Assignment and offer visitors the chance to learn more about innovative and influential craftspeople working today,” said Lauren Davis, Executive Director of Sawtooth School for Visual Art. “Our school was founded at the onset of World War II by an inventive group of women with strong ties to industry. They recognized the profound importance of arts education, and their early efforts paved the way for this exhibition—one that celebrates the significant, but under-recognized, contributions of women in the field of design.”
Seating Assignment features Katie Bister, Christina Boy, Annie Evelyn, Sophie Glenn, Aspen Golann, Elsa Hoffman, Joyce Lin, Wendy Maruyama, Laura Mays, Stacy Motte + Eleanor Rose, Sabiha Mujtaba, Ellie Richards, Janine Wang, and Kimberly Winkle. While many chairs will come from personal and private collections, Bister and Hoffman will be crafting brand-new pieces for the exhibition.
“These artists, designers, and makers are reimagining chairs to fit their own bodies,” said exhibition curator Rebecca Juliette-Duex, “reconfiguring classic shapes to communicate their own experience in a field where they have been historically excluded. The chairs, collected together in a critical mass under one roof, are a tangible presence that speaks not only to the work of the individual, but also the collective whole of women involved in furniture design and manufacturing.”
Seating Assignment: Women in Contemporary Chairmaking and Craft Education Exhibition is curated by Rebecca Juliette-Duex and organized with Rebecca Silberman, Sawtooth’s Director of Operations; Josie Vogel, Sawtooth’s Director of Wood Programs; and Dr. Rosa Otero, Associate Professor of Design at Salem College and curator of the SIDE Chair Library.
Salem College students are a driving force for organizing the exhibition, and there are plans for collaboration between students, artists, and objects through programming and curriculum developed with representatives from both institutions. Public programming will also be announced at a later date.
All parties involved believe that by elevating the work of innovative women artists of the moment, the show can spark the passion, confidence, and creativity of aspiring artists and designers in the region and beyond.
For more information about Sawtooth, contact 336-723-7395 or visit www.sawtooth.org
Sharing enthusiasm for printmaking in all of its many forms.
January 24 – March 2, 2024
Opening reception:
Saturday, Jan. 27, 4 – 5 pm
Good Impressions: Readings from the Press Bed
Saturday, Jan. 27, 5 – 6:30 pm
Our Print Group Exhibition features works by local artists eager to share their enthusiasm for printmaking in all its forms. Finished artworks, as well as pieces showing the printmaker’s process–including original blocks and plates, test prints, sketches, and more–are on view.
Our Print Group Exhibition features works by local artists eager to share their enthusiasm for printmaking in all its forms. Finished artworks, as well as pieces showing the printmaker’s process–including original blocks and plates, test prints, sketches, and more–are on view. As a community-focused visual art school, we believe that art is for everyone, and we hope you leave the exhibition with an expanded view of printmaking and an itch to make!
Join us for an opening reception on Saturday, January 27 at 4 pm, followed by our Good Impressions: Readings from the Press Bed event.
January’s edition of Good Impressions: Readings from the Press Bed will celebrate a belated Public Domain Day with guests Megan Mulder, Special Collections Librarian at Wake Forest University, and Mary Beth Boone of Purple Pumpkin Press. The reading and broadside will feature Felix Salten’s Bambi, a Life in the Woods, whose original English translation entered the public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. Free and open to the public, but please register so we have enough supplies on hand.
Throughout the holiday season, Sawtooth School for Visual Art has long been a destination for showcasing quality, handmade works crafted by regional artists. The tradition continues this year with the inaugural Sawtooth Spotlight: Juried Exhibition + Holiday Market, a year-end celebration of fine art, craft, and community featuring one-of-a-kind artworks perfect for holiday gift-giving.
Juried Exhibition: November 13–December 9, 2023
Opening Reception on Saturday, November 18 from 5-7 p.m.
Holiday Market: Saturday, December 2 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Within the Juried Exhibition, you will find original, high-quality works by various regional artists, many of whom are Sawtooth students and instructors. On view from Monday, November 13 through Saturday, December 9, 2023, the exhibition inspires pride and support for the talented, dedicated, cross-disciplinary Piedmont Triad community of artists. Most of the works will be available for purchase throughout the exhibition. The school will hold an opening reception featuring a cash bar on Saturday, November 18, 2023, from 5-7 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.
On Saturday, December 2nd, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Spotlight expands into a Holiday Market with over 50 artist vendors, hands-on activities, craft demonstrations, and fun for the whole family! Enjoy food and drinks from local favorites, including Sur Chilean Inspired Food and refreshments from Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County. The Holiday Market is open to the public with a $5 suggested donation supporting Sawtooth’s scholarship and community outreach programs.
From June 20th through August 1st, the Davis Gallery at Sawtooth transforms into an interactive fibers exhibit and maker space.
Fiber graffiti, also known as “yarn bombing”, is a form of street art that uses vibrant displays of knitted, crocheted yarn, and fiber instead of traditional spray paint and chalk.
Make a pompom, crochet a granny square, or donate an old knit scarf! People of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds are welcome to participate by adding to the fiber graffiti installation.
The pieces made from the exhibit will be joined together to form a large-scale sculpture, much like a community quilt, then installed throughout Winston-Salem to commemorate the September opening of the Senior Services Intergenerational Center for Art and Wellness.
To contribute to the making of the installation, register for our Yarn Splash! workshop events at the links below. Registration is free and open to the community!
Community Crochet Clinic with Jeanne Arzillo
Community Knit-In with Spring Duvall
Community Weave-A-Thon with Dr. Rachel Fesperman
How to Make a Crochet Square with Melissa Bube
To learn more about the partnership between Sawtooth and the Senior Services Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness, please visit seniorservicesinc.org.
Join us in the Davis Gallery on Thursday, June 15th, from 4 – 7 pm for our annual Not Quite Perfect Pottery Sale!
Shop one-of-a-kind handmade pottery from our students, instructors, and staff who have donated their perfectly imperfect pieces.
What makes them not quite perfect? Some are experiments, some didn’t turn out exactly how the artist intended, some may have some minor flaws, and others were donated by potters for our fundraising sale.
The event is free and open to the public! Proceeds help support Sawtooth programming.
To access the sale, please use the entrance at 251 N Spruce St. Please note that only credit card and debit payments will be accepted during the event. We encourage shoppers to bring their own bags to carry their purchased items.
Sawtooth School for Visual Art is delighted to announce the appointment of Lauren Davis as Executive Director. Davis has extensive experience in nonprofit management, most recently serving as Chief Advancement Officer at Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County.
“We received an amazing level of interest in this position from qualified candidates across the entire country,” says David Valliere, Chairman of the Board at Sawtooth School. “We are thrilled to have Lauren on board, and we look forward to benefitting from her exceptional leadership as the new Executive Director at Sawtooth.”
Davis holds a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) focused on Nonprofit Management from North Carolina State University and brings over ten years of experience and expertise working for various community organizations in the Piedmont Triad, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and YMCA of Northwest North Carolina.
During her tenure at Habitat for Humanity, she managed the Philanthropy, Volunteer, and Communications divisions and advanced the organization’s mission to provide communities with safe and affordable housing solutions.
As a nonprofit fundraising and development professional, Davis expresses a sincere passion for education, leadership, and appreciation for the arts.
“It is truly an honor to join Sawtooth, which has long served as a cornerstone of our local arts community in Winston-Salem and beyond. We need the creativity and vibrancy Sawtooth brings now more than ever,” Davis states. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to support its continued growth, sustainability, and ability to positively impact lives through arts education.”
Davis succeeds Amy Jordan Otterbourg, who became Executive Director in 2018.