We were thinking about the old Guild Studio School, which we miss - we were so hopeful that it would evolve into a degree-granting art school (wouldn’t that have been fabulous?). It was so sad that it closed in 2005, but there are still some great places in the area for art classes in everything from painting to pottery to printmaking.  So we’ve added a new link category, “Local Art Instruction.” We’re aware of a few excellent places in the Valley: Snow Farm in Williamsburg, The Garage Annex School in Easthampton, and Zea Mays in Florence; we’re sure there must be more.

If you know of any other places in the Valley offering art classes, please let us know and we’ll add them to our list.

 The final webpage of the Guild Studio School is still online at the Wayback Machine. The page includes a letter from the director, Andrew Francis, thanking supporters and it closes with this wonderful paragraph about art and community:

The most powerful organizations are those with the support and participation of their community. The Guild Studio School does not feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, or protect a vulnerable population. However, art infuses a soul into a community and is a necessary resource for broadening and enriching the lives of children, families and individuals. Art is an unsung hero that has struggled for millennia for support. Art is personal and public, emotional and political, informative and decorative, as well as wild and crazy at times. Supporting the arts and artists in your community is the most powerful way to make it more than a good and safe place to live; supporting art and artists is the only way to ensure that your community will be a rich, thriving and diverse place to live.

Beautifully put.