The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts

The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts (Eliot School) is located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Through its mission of inspiring lifelong learning in crafts and creativity for all, and a commitment in all programming to racial equity, Eliot School cultivates a welcoming environment where people convene across a continuum of age, economic means, and backgrounds to build skills, craftsmanship, and community. Eliot School began in 1676 with the donation of corn and land to support a school in Jamaica Plain. In the late 1800’s the school left the public school system to offer manual training for schoolteachers, instruction for adults, and classes for children both after and during school time. Eliot School maintains an active relationship with Boston Public Schools. Workshops and classes are offered in woodworking, upholstery & furniture restoration, sewing & fashion, fiber arts, book & paper arts, printmaking, photography, drawing & painting, mixed media, tinkering & inventing, and other crafts.

Reflecting its core values, Eliot School’s programs and classes seek to satisfy the human desires to create, engage in self-expression, and learn by doing. School and Community Partnerships send artists and artisans to teach woodworking and visual arts in schools and community centers throughout Boston, reaching more than 1,000 students from kindergarten through grade 12. The Teen Bridge program serves a dedicated group of teens outside of school time in a year-round, multi-year program combining art education and experience, life skills, mentorship, job training, and employment. The school’s Arts Teachers Alliance offers professional development to all art teachers, both public and independent, to improve skills, share resources, and build collegiality among peers. In addition, Eliot School offers multi-session, community classes in a variety of media including upholstery, photography, fiber arts, and printmaking. In the summer, the school also hosts Schoolyard Concerts, open to all. Community partnerships have included Boston Public Libraries, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, Higher Ground Boston, Fuller Craft Museum, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

The school is located in an affluent historic district of a multiracial, mixed-class neighborhood with significant immigrant constituencies. Eliot School is aware of its cultural/historic position and has been committed to increasingly developing programming that is accessible to young people and adults across Boston's geographic, racial and class spectrum––at the Eliot Street site, in Boston Public Schools, and through its partnerships. Prior to the pandemic, the school annually served 4,000 students of all ages, from preschool-age to seniors. Classes are held at its main Schoolhouse at 24 Eliot Street and the Annex at 253 Amory Street, where the administrative offices are housed. With important and long-standing relationships with the City of Boston’s largest arts funders, Eliot School remains a strong legacy institution. In Spring 2023, the organization completed an 18-month strategic planning process to establish short-term strategic priorities. The incoming Executive Director will guide the process for long-term strategic planning.

The Eliot School is steered by the Executive Director and governed by a 10-member board of trustees led by Chair Melony Swasey. There are 14 full- and 2 part-time employees, as well as over 80 instructors. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, the organization reported total revenue of $1,491,097, with $961,860 from contributions and grants and $151,221 from program services. Total expenses were $1,500,422.