Grit to Gold: Future Fifty

SNAG_2020 Conference_Logo_Full Color

In 2020 SNAG will hold it’s 49th annual conference in the City of Brotherly Love, and it’s going to be revolutionary!

Conference Dates: May 20-23, 2020
Online Registration is Now Open

Conference Location:
Philadelphia 201/Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel
201 North 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

CONFERENCE THEME: 2020’s conference will mark another historic milestone: the 50th anniversary of SNAG’s first conference. Since the original group of smiths came together at the organization’s first conference in 1970, the impact continues to resonate in the organization as SNAG endeavors to positively influence and enhance the livelihood of its large membership. While the 2019 Conference in Chicago celebrated SNAG’s 50th birthday and reflected on the last fifty years, in 2020 we will turn our focus to the future.

The theme of SNAG’s 2020 conference symbolizes its host city of Philadelphia and the fields of metalsmithing and jewelry, both of which are constantly evolving with the times; constantly reinventing themselves. The City’s historic architecture, landmarks and cobblestone streets intermingle with an ever-growing infill of modern buildings and highways. Philly has roots that are centuries old, but continues to adapt for the future (in a pretty gritty way).

“Grit” also can be interpreted as toughness – a stick-to-itiveness characteristic of many cities in the Northeast that in the best scenario can yield “golden” results. Along with presentations that look forward and explore the challenges and opportunities ahead, we will emphasize space for critical discourse, concepts/ideas, and technical presentations that speak to current questions and issues in the field.

Navigating Philadelphia has become more challenging as it has grown, with its many geographically- separated neighborhoods that each has its own distinct personality. This is also paralleled by the diversity of members, motivations and materials in our field, and the challenges we sometimes face to bring everyone together so we can tackle the next fifty years as a unified whole. That’s really what this theme is all about – From Grit to Gold: Future Fifty represents the breadth of us coming together after a huge historical evolution (that was not always pretty) and building the future together.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM: In keeping with the spirit of the conference theme, the 2020 Conference Program Committee (CPC) has thoughtfully restructured this year’s programming to include more opportunities for your voice to be heard. In addition to your favorite returning elements, such as an inspiring Keynote and Early Career Artist presentations, the program includes group discussions on critical issues in the field. The results of these Community Conversations will be shared back on the main stage before the conference closes on Saturday and plant the seeds for continued discourse after our time together in Philadelphia ends.

Join the revolution!! Your active participation in this year’s program is crucial to its success. Now is your chance to lend your voice to the conversation and help guide SNAG into the future by becoming a participant, not just an “attendee!”

HOST CITY: Join us for the 2020 SNAG Conference in Philadelphia! The City of Brotherly Love is a supportive hub made up of creatives and entrepreneurs inhabiting studio buildings throughout the City – the streets are small, but they pack in deep.

Philadelphia abounds with word-class museums, from the 4,500-year-old gold jewelry of a Mesopotamian queen at the Penn Archeological Museum to the Barnes, which displays important examples of wrought iron metalwork interspersed with Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Early Modernist paintings.

The architecture of Philly is also unparalleled, with an ever-changing skyline that is home to historic monuments and sometimes controversial modern marvels alike. A stroll down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (designed in 1917 to emulate the Champs-Élysées in Paris) boasts samples of some of the most iconic works of modern architecture alongside structures that have lined the cobblestone streets for centuries.

Philadelphians love food and their boutique restaurant scene is bustling with some of the best restaurants on the East Coast. The City is steeped in history, precedent and legacy all leading to the vibrant incubator leading innovation in our field that is it today.