Mount Washington’s 37-year-old ceramic arts nonprofit is back from the dead.
More than two months after Baltimore Clayworks’ former executive director announced the organization was shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, a grassroots campaign of Clayworks members and others revealed on Sept. 27 that they’ve successfully negotiated a deal to avoid closure, assume control of the nonprofit and install a brand new board of trustees.
The Clayworks Community Campaign, made up of Clayworks members and concerned locals, announced the deal. The group had worked for more than half a year to negotiate with the debt-burdened nonprofit’s ex-leaders on a sale of one the organization’s two Smith Avenue buildings — in order to preclude closure and bankruptcy. Evidently, the old leaders never actually filed for bankruptcy, despite clearing house and locking the doors.
“They closed the doors in mid-July,” community campaign spokeswoman and new board member Marsh Smelkinson said in a phone interview. “Right about that time, the existing board and our campaign agreed that we could not agree by ourselves, and so we both engaged counsel. Basically the last two months, the negotiations were through the attorneys.”
Clayworks shut down after eight months of searching for a way to stay financially solvent. The nonprofit was burdened with more than $1 million in debt, in part because of unpaid loans. The debt accrued over a period of 13 years, as Clayworks continued to serve Baltimore with workshops, studios for artists-in-residence and other programming from its home base in historic Mount Washington. The state also pitched in, selling more than $800,000 worth of bonds to assist with repairs and renovations.
Board members will hold a community meeting on Oct. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Parish Hall at the Church of the Redeemer at 5603 N. Charles St. A grand reopening event will be scheduled for later in the fall.
Read the full article at Baltimore Fishbowl.
Above: Screenshot of Baltimore Clayworks’ website.
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