{"id":131153,"date":"2026-03-06T10:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/131153\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:27:14","slug":"nonprofit-stained-glass-projects-is-first-to-move-into-former-uarts-hamilton-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/131153\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit stained glass projects is first to move into former UArts Hamilton Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kate Crankshaw graduated from The University of the Arts in 2019. And after a year as a resident artist and another two years of grad school in Virginia, she was ready to return to the private arts university to teach.<\/p>\n

It was a rude awakening when the school shut its doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was part of the reason I moved back to Philly,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it was a month after I graduated [from grad school] that the school shut down, and I was like, \u2018what now?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kate had always been focused on glass art \u2013 it\u2019s what she focused on while pursuing her Bachelor\u2019s in Fine Arts of Craft + Material Studies from UArts, and her Master\u2019s in Fine Arts of Craft + Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shortly after the UArts closure, she found a way to celebrate the UArts legacy and her love for glass \u2013 The Stained Glass Project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Stained Glass Project is an after-school nonprofit for Philly public high school students, and we teach them the art of stained glass making,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Crankshaw took over the program three years ago. And most recently, the nonprofit has moved into the Village of Industry and Art, the newly reactivated creative campus inside the former UArts Hamilton Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Hamilton Hall, a former class space for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, under construction and new ownership in March of 2026. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

The program is operating in the former UArts glass studio. Crankshaw said this has been a \u201cfull circle\u201d moment for her, as she\u2019s been able to return to where it all started for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned everything that I know in this room for the most part,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the basis of my education and how I feel about art and craft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Stained Glass Project has been around for 20-25 years in the Philly area. It was initially started at a church in Germantown, with participants from Germantown High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crankshaw said the program still has a focus on the art of stained glass nearly two decades later, but that there is an extra emphasis on leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were doing the same thing that we do now, which was working with stained glass, but really the thing that we do is mentorship,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Program participants will make two windows. The first one, a replica of the Philadelphia LOVE sign, aims to get students acquainted to working with stained glass. The second window type will be decided by students each year, and will be donated to other non-profit organizations across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The art work of Tianna Coffey, a freshman at Constitution High School in Philadelphia, during participation at the Stained Glass Project\u2019s free after school program. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Crankshaw said there is a \u201clearning curve\u201d that comes as students work with the glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir first window, they go slower,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re scared of the glass, they\u2019re scared to cut themselves, or that the machines will cut them. And I have to say, \u2018I promise they won\u2019t cut you.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may grind away your fingernails, but that\u2019s the worst thing that will happen. And then by the second window, they\u2019re all very quick, and they own the process and know what they\u2019re doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A student smooths a glass piece after shaping it through breaking at the Stained Glass Project\u2019s free after school program. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s afterschool program hosts students from Constitution High School, George Parker High School and Science Leadership Academy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crankshaw said schools that participate can vary year by year \u2013 and that it depends on which respond to outreach from the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having this time to unwind with friends is important, said Gabrielle Jones, a ninth-grade participant from Constitution High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we come in, they do ask us how our day was and how we feel,\u201d she said. Whatever we say, they don\u2019t undermine it.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, participants will start working on glass. This year\u2019s group is currently working on their first LOVE sign window.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones has never worked with stained glass before. She said the nonprofit creates a low-pressure environment, where she and her peers can learn this new skill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program actually allows you to pick options [for stained glass colors],\u201d she said. \u201cAt my own school, it would have been like, \u2018oh, you can only use three colors.\u2019 Here, you can use any colors you want. And they make the environment comfortable for teenagers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Gabbi Jones, a freshman at Constitution High School in Philadelphia, works on her window during the Stained Glass Project\u2019s free after school program. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Crankshaw said there are various parts to the process.<\/p>\n

For the LOVE window, there is a specific pattern and instructions to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they number everything. They cut out all their pieces, and then their frame is what the final frame will be in wood. So they have to make sure everything fits right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crenshaw said students have choices in the tools they use.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are tools for flat cutting, we have a band saw kind of thing,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd glass tools are like sandpaper, more than a saw, because they all grind away glass, they don\u2019t cut it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Ashton Douglass, a freshman at Constitution High School in Philadelphia, worked to place copper around the stained glass pieces during the Stained Glass Project\u2019s free after school program (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Passing wisdom along\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maria Trainor was a program participant in the Stained Glass Project several years ago through PA Cyber Charter. She said she saw this as a unique opportunity to practice a new art skill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in the arts,\u201d she said. \u201cPhilly has a bunch of different things like free ceramic classes, free painting classes and then I saw this stained glass one. I thought, \u2018no one ever does that for free.\u2019 I knew it was expensive. And I knew I wouldn\u2019t be able to learn it in any other situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trainor applied and fell in love with the program right away. This led to other opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave me a scholarship at the end of the program to go to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York,\u201d she said. \u201cThey had weeklong intensive classes, so I stayed there for a week learning different stained glass techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trainor is now back volunteering with the program on Monday afternoons. She said the work felt aligned with two things she loved \u2013 glass and nonprofits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKate needed help and since I was young, I\u2019ve worked in different nonprofits and volunteered so I thought, \u2018why not?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAnd in exchange, I get to have studio space and progress my art and glass skills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trainor said, as a volunteer, it is rewarding to watch younger students start with the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love seeing them use everything for the first time and ask questions and really get into it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting whenever they cut their first piece of glass, because they\u2019re kind of scared but then they really get into it and it becomes their favorite thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learning a new skill is exciting, said Tianna Coffey, a ninth-grade student at Constitution High.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gone pretty smoothly,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve learned a lot of new skills and saw a ton of new things and stuff like that that I haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kate Crankshaw, director of the Stained Glass Project (right) instructs Tianna Coffey (left) a freshman at Constitution High School in Philadelphia, on stained glass making techniques at a free after school program. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

Jones agrees. She said program leaders like Trainor help to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t rush you to finish this project, because they know that it\u2019s our first time, so they\u2019re pretty understanding,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The windows at the end of the program are donated to other nonprofits throughout the country. Crankshaw said the students have an active role in choosing what is on these windows and where they go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids love learning about the nonprofits,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then what I\u2019ve done since I\u2019ve been in charge is actually asked the kids what they care about and what kinds of things they would want to donate to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo last year, a lot of them said they wanted to support things that are bringing art to people who don\u2019t have access, and then the year before, they really cared about the LGBTQ+ rights.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said that using the students\u2019 input helps them feel important and motivated to create meaningful work for these organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Community support\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crankshaw said the program is funded with a mix of private donors and grants \u2013 which allow for things like free SEPTA passes for students, snacks ahead of glass work and supplies.<\/p>\n

Crankshaw explained that the studio also uses donated supplies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of glass, because people pick up stained glass as a hobby, and then they decide they don\u2019t want to do it, and then they need somewhere to give the glass,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said being back in the UArts community has felt like home. She said this new, creative campus inside the former Hamilton Hall feels like a community of its own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always wanted to work in nonprofits, and I always wanted to teach at UArts,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, this feels like the full circle thing of doing all of that in this way that I didn\u2019t intend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said that as tenants continue to move into the building, she is beginning to feel reconnected to the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kate Crankshaw, director of the Stained Glass Project, holds a title that denoted the studio number of the room her after school program uses in the former University of the Arts building known a Hamilton Hall. (Kimberly Paynter\/WHYY)<\/p>\n

She explained this was the perfect spot to put the nonprofit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to UArts, and I knew the magic that existed within the whole space, and this classroom and it was already set up\u00a0 to do everything we needed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can learn more about The Stained Glass Project here<\/a> and donate to the project here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kate Crankshaw graduated from The University of the Arts in 2019. And after a year as a resident…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[33060,4877,227,564,60896,69,71,70,60897,60707,36684],"class_list":["post-131153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-art-education","tag-arts","tag-education","tag-featured","tag-hamilton-hall","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-the-stained-glass-project","tag-uarts","tag-university-of-the-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}