World’s first Arts and Crafts Movement Museum opens in St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The world’s first museum dedicated to the arts and crafts movement is now open in St. Petersburg.
"The museum houses the collection of the Two Red Roses Foundation, which included about 2,000 objects and currently we have 800 objects on view," explained, Andrea Morgan, director of operations at the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
The 137,000 square-foot museum has five stories of exhibits ranging from furniture to ceramics to lighting. It was designed to pay homage to the movement by being in an open-air space like a craftsman's home.
"The American Arts and Crafts Movement was sort of a rebellion against the industrial revolution," stated Morgan. "The idea was that artist and artisans wanted to create things that were handmade, and handcrafted, made with beautiful materials and that were decorative and functional as well."
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The variety of objects on display offers a little bit of something for everyone and the layout reflects the different handmade items.
The museum is organized by collections. The fifth floor contains the furniture collection, which is full of functional hand-crafted pieces.
Ceramics are on the fourth floor, but it goes beyond vases and tableware. There's a fully installed bathroom with nearly 1,200 glazed tiles.
The third floor holds the lightning collection with leaded glass lamps, shades, globes, suspended chandeliers and other handmade lights. This floor also houses the temporary exhibits.
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On the second floor, visitors will find the architect collection which really starts outside with the amazing architectural elements of the building itself complete with an atrium, spiral staircase and custom-made entryways.
"These are works of art that people live with, it is not just paintings," Morgan explained. "We have things that would be in your home…and to see and know that these things have been handcrafted I think is really special."
The Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement is open Tuesday through Sunday and is located at 355 4th Street North in St. Petersburg.
LINK: To learn more about the museum, exhibits and the movement, visit https://www.museumaacm.org/index.html .
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