In light of Governor Wolf’s recent announcement to transition several Pennsylvania counties, including Fayette, to “green” status as of June 5th, we wanted to share some information regarding our plans.

Touchstone Center for Crafts is excited to be part of a group of museums and cultural institutions from across Southwestern Pennsylvania that is collaboratively preparing our organizations for safe re-openings. 

The shared priority of the group is the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers. We are working together to develop and share best practices, in conjunction with federal, state, and local recommendations. These best practices will reflect the unique needs of our institutions and will help to ensure you feel comfortable and prepared on your return to Touchstone and other Southwestern Pennsylvania museums and cultural institutions. 

Our group started meeting in late March and now includes thirty different museums and arts organizations that span Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Fayette Counties. We are meeting digitally on a weekly basis to share plans and discuss key elements of re-opening, including visitor guidelines; our facilities; staff and volunteers; and diversity and equity issues. Although each institution is evaluating re-opening under their own schedule, we are confident that these shared conversations will facilitate safe and smooth re-openings across the region. 

While this group convened for the purpose of collaborating on best practices for reopening our institutions, it has opened the door for other vital collaborative efforts, such as addressing our support for racial equity and ending the cycle of violence and oppression affecting people of color in our community. This group will continue to meet to listen to the needs of our community and discuss specific actions that can be taken by each institution to make a change.

Touchstone’s campus will remain closed to the public until further notice. We’ve made the decision to not hold any events or workshops on campus for the remainder of the 2020 season. Our staff is busy scheduling virtual programming for Teens and Adults, tackling some major administrative and maintenance projects, and preparing for our 2021 season. Until then, we are glad to continue connecting digitally and look forward to welcoming you back to campus again soon!

Please follow our social media: Facebook and Instagram, and check the Virtual Events page on our website frequently to see what’s being offered!