RUSKIN ART CLUB INC
200 S Avenue 66, Los Angeles, CA 90042 www.ruskinartclub.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Support for pioneering arts initiatives, arts education, with new generations of Southland Artists and thinkers. The study and promotion of cultural art, history, literature, and contemporary affairs, non-partisan and related to civic interest and matters beneficial to community welfare. The operational mission includes programs of public lectures, concerts, exhibitions, readings and symposia on issues of public interest; networking and pursuing common projects with other community arts associations in the Southland; networking and pursuing common projects with and providing a public forum for historical and conservation associations in the Southland.

Conference: Notre Dame University, South Bend, INJohn Ruskin: Prophet of the AnthropoceneFeb. 7-8, 2020Coordinated by Professor Robert Goulding (recently elected to Companion status in The Guild of St. George) and his colleague, Sara Maurer, this fine conference, the first ever to be held in this part of North America, was the last to convene before the current coronavirus crisis which, of late, has kept so many of us at home and away from other such stimulating and convivial gatherings. In this capacity as the last conference for a while, although none of us knew of that special status at the time, it proved a tremendous success. For years, Professor Goulding has been a great admirer of Ruskin and his works; and so it was with the idea of promulgating the importance of both the man and his writings in the American Mid-West that he designed this gathering. Its theme recognized Ruskin as a harbinger of a new era in history, already known as the Anthropocene, a period wherein the impact of humanity on the planet has been so powerful it has shifted us into a new geologic era. One of the brilliant strokes of the event was to intermingle scholars who were new to Ruskin (most of whom were young) with others who have been thinking and writing about him (most of whom were considerably older) for many years. The approach, which unfolded over two days with no less than six panels featuring four speakers each, and two evening Keynote Sessions, not only produced an extremely novel mix of papers, but allowed a unique chance for these generations of Ruskin aficionados to mix and exchange ideas, thereby setting the stage for new collaborations in the future.

September 12-13, 2019John Ruskin and the Beginnings of the Arts and Crafts MovementRoycroft Campus, East Aurora, NYRoster of speakers included: Dr. Jim Spates, photographer Peter Potter, educator Dr. Kim Walter, printer Joe Webb, and Gabriel Meyer. (RAC)The Ruskin Art Club supported the first-ever Arts and Crafts conference at Roycroft. Executive Director, Gabriel Meyer, represented the RAC and forged important ties with the historic Roycroft Campus Corporation, along with Arts and Crafts groups in Rose Valley, PA. A dinner was held at the end of proceedings to discuss future collaborative efforts between Ruskin organizations in the US. These ties proved providential during the Covid-19 period when only virtual events were possible and audiences as well as lecturers from these East-coast Ruskin-oriented groups were an important element in the RACs successful online events.

September 4, 2019:The Ruskin Art Club co-hosted a lecture on A New and Natural Beauty: John Ruskin and the Birth of the Arts and Crafts Movement with Friends of the Gamble House in Pasadena. The lecture was delivered by Dr. James Spates, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York, a noted Ruskin scholar. Dr. Spates lectured on the role that Ruskins writings played in laying the groundwork for the Arts and Crafts movement spearheaded by William Morris a movement which was to have such an influence on art design, the revival of craft, and social reform movements in America and the UK. The lecture was delivered to an enthusiastic audience in a facility adjacent to the historic Gamble House, the 1908 masterpiece of craftsman architects Greene and Greene, and a national historic landmark. Attendees were invited post-lecture to the Gamble House itself for a reception. Constituencies served included docents and members of the Gamble House/Friends of the Gamble House, staff at the Gamble House, Pasadena-based Arts and Crafts enthusiasts, and scholars of the history of California.Attendance: 100

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