Haystack announces speaker series to celebrate its 75th year
Among Haystack’s speaker series scheduled for its Deer Isle campus this summer are Stuart Kestenbaum, former poet laureate of Maine; sculptor Syd Carpenter, former chair of the art department at Swarthmore College; and woodworker Rosanne Somerson, former head of the Rhode Island School of Design. Photos courtesy of Haystack.
Jan. 19, 2026
By staff
DEER ISLE–Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has announced a special speaker series to mark its 75th year.
The school’s “Distinguished Speaker Series” will be held both on and off its campus, with events in Madison, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Deer Isle.
“As Haystack celebrates its anniversary, we honor the singular and resilient community that keeps us moving forward,” said Perry Price, executive director of Haystack, in a press release. “From our celebrated and iconic campus to the dedicated staff, participants, and faculty that reinvent the School each season, this Speaker Series will champion our connections and strengthen our commitment to visionary craft education, both on Deer Isle and across the country.”
Perry Price, director of Haystack, will deliver a presentation in Wisconsin later this month as part of the organization’s 75th anniversary. Photo courtesy of Haystack.
The speaker series will be led by members of Haystack’s former faculty, staff, participants, and community. Among the events are a Jan. 28 presentation by Price as part of the UW–Madison Art Department Visiting Artist Colloquium, and an April 9 lecture by ceramic artist Roberto Lugo at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.
At Haystack’s Deer Isle campus, three speakers–Syd Carpenter, Rosanne Somerson and Stuart Kestenbaum–will deliver immersive lectures this summer.
The school says it is planning to conclude the series in the fall with a “curated panel of artists” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Details on the event are still being finalized, according to the press release.
Information on tickets and registration for individual lectures will be available on partner institutions’ websites.
Haystack was founded in 1950 as “an experiment in education and community” that had no permanent faculty and awarded no degrees, the release said. The school’s award-winning campus, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, opened in 1961, relocating from Montville, Maine, to Deer Isle.
