One rainy day in March 2011, The Art League approached the Alexandria Seaport Foundation with an idea. Now, this wasn’t the first time the League and Seaport Foundation had worked together — we’ve had great success through the years placing talented seaport program participants in art classes through The Art League’s Geri Gordon Scholarship Program.

This idea would take our relationship in a new direction: creative problem-solving!

The problem: The Art League needed good quality classroom easels built to our specifications.

The solution: The Art League would employ the Seaport Foundation’s carpentry skills and talents to produce our easel fleet and, thereby, serve our students while helping another worthy mission.

Through this ongoing creative partnership, the League works with SPF to design custom equipment and furniture to meet the challenging needs of our organization. The Art League pays the Seaport Foundation to build equipment and the project allows for seaport participant skill-training as well as funding the programs and mission of the Foundation. Another creative win-win for Alexandria!

This idea blossomed into an ongoing production partnership for easels, sculpture stands, and our latest endeavor: the new store counter. To find out more about how you can help support this project and our other outreach programs, click here.

The Seaport Foundation teaches at-risk youth the art and math of boatbuilding, spending time in both the boat shop and the classroom to improve lives. They also run a paid, work-based boatbuilding apprentice program for disadvantaged youths. The Art League’s payment to the Seaport Foundation for the new counter goes to support those programs.

Apprentices in the program, led by Seaport Foundation volunteer Peter, built a brand-new countertop to the store’s specifications, complete with a sturdy oak frame and sliding doors. Peter said it’s a different kind of carpentry from the boatbuilding apprentices do, giving them an opportunity to learn about square lines and the importance of “an eighth of an inch here and an eighth of an inch there.”

You can see the new counter in action at The Art League Store in a few weeks, and stay tuned for news about an exciting partnership between The Art League and the Seaport Foundation coming up on Seaport Day, Saturday, September 28.