As construction begins… here’s what Yardies need to know

As I’m sure you’ve already heard- The Steel Yard is preparing to renovate our historic studios! We will be undergoing a significant remediation and remodel beginning in December 2018, you can learn more about the plans here.

We wanna make sure all you Yardies are in the know… so first things first. Are you subscribed to all our mailing lists? Click here to subscribe and stay up to date with ALL our happenings over the next year.

Great, secondly… DID you know that the Steel Yard is basically internet famous? (And no, I’m not talking about the underground dance club in London that has our same name). Make sure you’re following us on social media to receive all our updates, plus some pretty awesome content.
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(Got something cool that you want to share! Don’t forget to add #thesteelyard in your posts!)

Now let’s go down to the nitty-gritty… what’s up with programs during the construction time…

Open Enrollment Courses

Historically, we’ve never had heat in our studio building, most students are already familiar with us closing down Open Enrollment Courses during the winter- the studio renovations will just be extending that downtime an additional few months. Courses will resume after the renovations are complete, with the added bonus of having a heating system that will keep students warm in winter and a ventilation system that will significantly cool studios during the hotter summer months. Courses will be year-round, and comfortable! If you’d like to be notified when new courses are added to the line-up, sign up for our mailing list here.

Residencies at the Yard

Typically, we start accepting applications for our Residency Program in January… due to construction/restoration that will be pushed back to later in the year. During construction, we’ll be planning numerous improvements to the program and ensuring a diverse amount of engagement opportunities for the future cohort! To learn more about the Residency Program and to be notified when the 2019 Applications are available, contact residencies@thesteelyard.org.

Public Projects

Public Projects will be going strong over at our temporary Rathbone Street location, continuing to employ local artists as designers and fabricators and make public art.  Contact projects@thesteelyard.org for more info (or hire us!)

Workforce Training at the Yard!
During construction, we’ll be working closely with former Weld-to-Work graduates who will augment their training as fabricators at our new Public Projects shop on Rathbone. The new facility will allow Weld-to-Work students to undergo on-the-job training while working on public commissions. New Weld-to-Work 1.0 and 2.0 programs will be starting shortly after the studio reopen. If you have questions about Weld-to-Work or would like to be notified when 2019 applications are released contact workforce@thesteelyard.org.

The Studio/ Tours

With the studio under construction here are some of the day-to-day logistics to be aware of… Open Studios and our Wednesday Walk-in Tours are taking a break until we are ready to reopen! In the meantime, our Studio Managers are working closely with instructors and Yardies to take inventory, pack up studio tools and equipment to be moved into temporary storage. All of this will add up to setting up the shop of our dreams + a fresh start!

Volunteering at the Yard
We’re gonna need all the volunteer help we can get and will continue to host volunteering opportunities here at the Yard throughout the duration of construction… we’ll need help packing up, organizing, cleaning the shop and moving tools/equipment. PLUS we have a lot of work we’ll continue to get on Campus and in the Back-40. Be sure to sign up for our Volunteer E-Mail List to stay up to date on opportunities.

Private Requests
The Steel Yard Jobs Board connects you to the artists within our community that can complete your project needs, and we will continue to accept three types of requests: Private Requests, Employment Opportunities as well as Educational/ Training opportunities. These are opportunities OUTSIDE of the Steel Yard. Jobs Board posts are made by individuals and businesses outside of the organizations and are NOT Steel Yard opportunities… but ya know what? Hundreds of local artists/makers access this list weekly to find unique and exciting job opportunities from repairs, to custom furniture, to large-scale art pieces. Hire a local artist today!

Events/ Site Rentals
The Steel Yard’s outdoor campus is visited by tens of thousands of people EVERY YEAR for our exciting fundraising events, parties, and festivals… For 2019 we’re going to be taking a short break from site rentals while construction is underway. As of now, we are not accepting site rental proposals for 2019. Interested in hosting & organizing an event here at the Steel Yard in 2020? Contact events@thesteelyard.org and let’s start the conversation! Once construction is complete, we’re excited that we’ll have brand new indoor bathroom facilities available at the Yard for events & site rentals.

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