GrowlerFest East & West
Massachusetts & Oregon
Apr 10th - Jun 29th, 2015
GrowlerFest 2015 East + West is a project that showcased the ties between the local food movement, craft beer, and ceramic art.
“Through the intersection of collaboration and individual aesthetic
we hope to spark investment in handmade objects”
Alex Renee Jelleberg with artist Bradley Klem (Phoenix, AZ), partnered with Project Art (Cummington, MA), The Eutectic Gallery (Portland, OR) and Portland Growler Company (Portland, OR) to bring GrowlerFest 2015 East + West to the East and West Coasts for the first time.
Project coordinators Alex and Brad’s aim was to create a narrative about the link between the craft brewery movement and the vitality of handmade pottery: “Through the intersection of collaboration and individual aesthetic, we hope to spark investment in handmade objects among a group of people who share a common interest. The enjoyment of food and drink can be greatly enriched by the experience of using the beautiful work artists so thoughtfully produce.”
GrowlerFest 2015 East + West intended to connect artists working in disparate ways and faraway places to both each other and the craft beer movement by offering the surface of a growler as a way to collaborate with one another, and an exhibition with functional and decorative components to draw parallels and comparisons in form, style, design and philosophy between local and global ceramic artists.
The project’s events were hosted on the East Coast by Project Art and on the West Coast by The Eutectic Gallery.
While project details are evolved with each iteration, the main feature of GrowlerFest 2015 East + West was a culminating food and beer tasting event featuring original decal designs by some of the globe’s top ceramic artists working graphically on clay and vessels by some of the country’s best potters who have worked in the Hilltowns and Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts.
A set of porcelain growlers thrown by Phoenix artist Bradley Klem were complemented by a special edition of growlers produced by the Portland Growler Company. These sets were be balanced by tankards, flasks, tumblers, and other drinking vessels made by local ceramic artists. All works were featured in a two-month long exhibition at Project Art in Cummington, MA (October 3-December 2, 2015).
PROGRAMMING & TIMELINE:
2015 - GrowlerFest East at Project Art 01026 (Cummington, MA)
2015 - GrowlerFest West at Eutectic Gallery (Portland, OR)
2015 - New Voices Lecture with Alex Jelleberg & Bradley Klem at Office for the Arts at Harvard (Allston, MA)
2016 - GrowlerFest Midwest at Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence, KS
2016 - NCECA Conference Presenters in NCECA Blinc 20/20, Kansas City, MO
2016 - Clay Culture: GrowlerFest Amanda Barr. Appears in the September 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
2017 - The Story of Growlerfest: Brad Klem Episode 362 on The Potter’s Cast by Paul Blais
2017 - GrowlerFest at Hops & Pots Fundraiser for Studio Potter Journal with the Hilltown Six Pottery Tour at Project Art 01026 (Cummington, MA)
2018 - GrowlerFest at The BrewHouse, NCECA Satellite Show at The BrewHouse Association (Pittsburgh, PA)
2019 - GrowlerFest at Hops & Pots Fundraiser for Studio Potter Journal with the Hilltown Six Pottery Tour at Project Art 01026 (Cummington, MA)
Founders & Creative Directors Bradley Klem & Alex Renee Jelleberg went on to host collaborations in 2 additional locations and returned to Western Mass for pop-up benefits:
Free State Brewing Company (Lawrence KS) in 2016, as a partner show for the NCECA conference.
The BrewHouse Association (Pittsburgh, PA) in 2018 coordinated alongside Natalie Sweet (Exhibitions/ Program Coordinator), Chris McGinnis (Founding Director & Chief Curator at Rivers of Steel, Board & Interim Director) & Karlee Turkaly (Brew House Association Board Chair).
Alex & Brad spoke about GrowlerFest at the Office for the Arts at Harvard in 2015 in the New Voices Lecture Series, and at NCECA as Conference Presenters in NCECA Blinc 20/20, Kansas City, MO (2016).
They also brought the shows back to Project Art in both 2017 & 2019, for special displays at Hops & Pots Fundraisers for the Studio Potter Journal – organizing benefit events in conjunction with the Hilltown Six Pottery Tour (2017, 2019).
Brad & Alex also did an interview with Amanda Barr for Ceramics Monthly: Clay Culture: GrowlerFest Amanda Barr which appears in the September 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly.
Brad spoke about the The Story of Growlerfest project in an interview The Potter’s Cast by Paul Blais: Listen to the Episode for more.
