Better Together: Hand in Hand 2026
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Clay Art Center to celebrate the creativity, connection, and community that make this place so special!
Thank you to everyone who gathered with us this past weekend to celebrate the 2026 Hand in Hand Annual Benefit and Auction. We celebrated our shared passion for clay, the impact we've created, and the future we're shaping through our mission, programs, and residencies. We also celebrated our honorees, the Common Sense Fund, who have been making more possible at Clay Art Center for the past 15 years - more classes for students of all ages and ability levels, more accessible arts education through scholarships and free and low-cost classes, more opportunities for growth and collaboration with our community.
We are deeply grateful to our board, staff, teachers, volunteers, artists, students, and everyone who supports and believes in Clay Art Center. A special thank you goes to the generous artists who donated their incredible work to the Hand in Hand Auction, artists who donated their handmade vases, and to everyone who participated and helped make this celebration possible. Clay Art Center would not be the creative community hub it is without all of you.
Speaking at Hand in Hand this year, Clay Art Center Executive Director Emily Peck stated that, “Tonight is about celebrating what we make possible together. Through each milestone over the past 70 years, one thing has remained constant: Clay Art Center has grown because people believed in its mission and invested in its future. Tonight, we are celebrating the collective impact of our clay community and recognizing the Common Sense Fund, whose partnership has helped fuel our growth over the past 15 years. We are fortunate to have so many partners in this community who share our commitment to the arts, creativity, and the future of Port Chester. Clay Art Center thrives because of dedicated partners like the Common Sense Fund and a community of supporters like all of you.
“We want to be able to say yes to everyone who wants access to opportunities for creativity. Yes to hiring an additional classroom assistant so a student with different learning needs can fully participate. Yes when the Cancer Support Community asks us to offer a second class because the first has meant so much to its participants. And yes when organizations serving veterans reach out because they’ve heard about our clay programs and want to know if there’s room for them, too. Every one of those requests represents someone who could benefit from the creativity, connection, and sense of belonging that clay can offer. We want to be ready to say yes. And that means having the resources to meet the need, welcome more people, and make sure that cost is never the reason someone is turned away.
“This past year, we provided more than 1,200 scholarships, an increase of almost 9% from the previous year, and an increase of more than 33% over the past 10 years thanks to our generous community. The need continues to grow, and we are committed to reaching more people. Our exhibition and Shop programs also play an important role in our mission, supporting more than 500 artists each year through 12 exhibitions and opportunities to sell work in our Shop. These programs connect artists with new audiences, celebrate the breadth of contemporary ceramics, and make the arts more accessible to our community.
“We’re also looking ahead to the future. As many of you know, we purchased a property across the street as part of our expansion plans. I’m excited to share that we recently selected the firm nArchitects to help us envision and design the next chapter of Clay Art Center. After a competitive selection process, we chose them for their creativity and their ability to see possibilities and find solutions to the challenges ahead. We have a vision for what an expanded Clay Art Center can make possible, with more room for classes, artists, exhibitions, and community programs… Together with nArchitects, we’ll be designing a campus that brings our existing buildings and new space together to serve our community and support our growth for generations to come. Nearly 70 years after Clay Art Center was founded, our mission remains as important as ever.”
Others who spoke at Hand in Hand highlighted the significance of accessible arts education and the particular power of clay help us find our center, forge connections with one another, and transform the world around us.
“The Common Sense Fund support has enabled community art projects, teacher professional development, summer camp assistantships, and paid internships, providing young people in Port Chester with valuable work experience. These opportunities go beyond teaching ceramics. They build confidence, encourage creativity, and help young people discover their capabilities. The Common Sense Fund is a catalyst for growth - They have also been instrumental in building Clay Art Center’s organizational capacity. Their support helped us implement our database, hire our first marketing staff member, and hire our first assistant for Community Arts. And most recently, they helped fund our first ADA-accessible classroom, opening our doors to more people, and expanding the ways we can serve our community. These investments may happen behind the scenes, but they have lasting effects on everything we do.
As Clay Art Center approaches its 70th anniversary in 2027, we are preparing for our next stage of growth, including plans for a significantly expanded facility. We know that growth requires more than additional space. It takes the staff, systems, resources, volunteers, and community to make that space accessible, welcoming, and sustainable. The Common Sense Fund has helped us build that foundation over the past 15 years. Their partnership is a powerful example of how strategic philanthropy can help an organization prepare for its future while making a difference today. We are deeply thankful to the Common Sense Fund and its trustees for their belief in Clay Art Center and the value of arts education. It is our pleasure to recognize this extraordinary partnership today.” - Sally Ng Briggs, Board President
“Clay Art Center is a renowned site for artists - to learn, to teach, to create and to exhibit. It is also a place for building community, and for exposing children to the joys of expressing themselves through clay. I am forever grateful to their unwavering commitment to both Port Chester and the broader community.” - County Legislator Nancy Barr
“I’m really excited to be the Community Arts Fellow because I get to explore my ceramics while being part of such a warm and supportive community… I’m a people person, so being part of a community like this is exactly where I wanted to be. Here, I get to teach children, Gilda’s Club participants, and veterans in clay classes, and I even get to speak Spanish with some of my students. I want my students to experience a sense of freedom through the tactile medium of clay. I want them to feel the joy of creation, get lost in the process, and forget about their worries. I’m still growing as an artist, and I’m grateful that I get to share what I know about ceramics through teaching and creating. Looking to the future, I want to be a role model to young children and other Hispanic kids who perhaps never saw someone that resembled them in this field, to show them that they could also do this or at least have the courage to follow their passions. I wish this for the adults as well, hoping you know it’s never too late to follow your passions.”- Kamila Roman, Community Arts Fellow
“Coming to Clay Art Center has profoundly changed my life. Clay is transformative: what starts as a block of clay can become something completely unique through throwing, molding, or pinching. But what interests me most is how clay transforms the person working with it. Working with clay is healing and restorative. It lets us quiet the internal noise and focus on what's right in front of us, whether we're wedging a ball of clay, compressing the bottom of a piece, or just making the next pull. Clay has taught me to embrace what I can control and let go of what I can’t. It’s given me a creative outlet I didn’t realize I was missing in my life, along with crash courses in patience, resilience, and acceptance. And it’s not just me. I hear from teachers, students, and artists in our community who talk about how working with clay benefits their mental health and builds skills they carry with them outside the studio, too… We're not just providing access to clay; we're creating spaces where people can connect, learn new skills, and feel a sense of belonging.” - Brian Barry, Community Arts & Offsite Programs Manager
Hand in Hand, and the work of Clay Art Center, would not be possible without the support of our amazing community. Together, we raised $162,000 toward our fundraising goal this past weekend! Now, an anonymous donor has offered an exciting dollar-for-dollar match to help us reach $200,000. Every new dollar donated by October 31 will be matched, up to $24,000. Make your gift today and double your impact.