Press and News
May 8th, 2020
As many of you already know, our Kickstarter Fundraiser was a rousing success. We were looking to raise $15,000 to start renovations of our gallery spaces and we ended the 42 day campaign with $16,729. We are just thrilled. The average pledge was $124 and the most popular reward was the Bead Project Downloads for $25.
The outpouring of support from the beadwork community, as well as the art world and fellow museums, has been truly humbling. We had thought a museum of this kind would be well received, but to have so many people come together in support of our mission, in support of making the Museum of Beadwork a reality, we are simply astounded. We learned so much from this experience and found an abundance of motivation from the contributions and encouragement of our backers. The Museum now has a big head start in opening as soon as we are able, and it is all thanks to you, our community.
What’s next?
First off, as of today the Museum of Beadwork is still planning to open in 2021. We are in hopes of doing so in the spring, but the reality of the current situation is that it may be later in the year before we are fully able to open our doors. The City of Portland is not currently issuing new building permits due to the pandemic, so this may be a major factor in our progress. It’s hard at this point to tell what issues will arise with social distancing and workplace restrictions changing each month, but any delay due to these restrictions will be simply that; a delay. We are moving ahead with our plans for now, adjusting here and there, and will take each day as it comes. We’ve come a long way in the past 9 months and we are not stopping now!
We will be doing more fundraising over the next year for our classroom space, building our cases, and even a few specific exhibitions. We will be announcing some of the exciting artwork that is coming our way as soon as we have confirmation, and we will continue to update on our progress and latest projects & collaborative works as often as we can.
What projects & collaborative works does the Museum have so far?
Wings & Stings: Exploring the World of Beaded Bugs, is a beadwork challenge we have put together in partnership with Miyuki Co. and Caravan Beads. The deadline for this competition has been pushed back to August 15th, 2020, and we are accepting entries from now until then. Take a look at our website for more details, rules, and the prizes of the MOB Challenge.
In the next week we will be announcing a community project open to all. We are just now finishing up the parameters and ironing out some details. Stay tuned to our website and our FaceBook page for this and other exciting announcements.
As always we are grateful for your interest and support in our mission. The Museum indeed has a big head start towards opening, and it is all thanks to you, our wonderful community.
Kristina Skillin
Director