| Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco | |
| Abbreviation: | MAG |
| Formerly: | Metal Arts Guild of Northern California |
| Type: | 501(c 3) non-profit arts organization |
| Headquarters: | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Location Country: | United States |
Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco (MAG), is an American non-profit, arts educational organization founded in 1951.[1] The organization has supported the creation of Modernist jewelry in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as contemporary, and sculptural works.[2]
The Metal Arts Guild of San Francisco was founded in July 1951 by a group of dedicated metal artists and jewelers led by Margaret De Patta,[3] and included Merry Renk,[4] Irena Brynner, Florence Resnikoff, Byron August Wilson, Peter Macchiarini, Virginia Macchiarini, Vera Allison, Francis Sperisen, and Bob Winston.[5] [6] [7] Margaret De Patta served as the MAG founding president in 1951; followed by Merry Renk serving as president in 1954.[8]
The organization has been run by a team of volunteers since the early times. The members meet once a month for organizational meetings. The organization host educational lectures, art exhibitions, and classes.[9] Benefits for members of MAG include a mutual exchange of information on techniques and exhibition opportunities, and large cooperative purchases of materials in order to offer a lessened prices.[10]
For many of the early years of the organization, an annual exhibition of the Metal Arts Guild was held at a San Francisco museum, often at the Legion of Honor, or the De Young Museum. In 2002, the exhibition Fifty Years in the Making: The Bay Area Metal Arts Guild 1951-2001, was held at Velvet Da Vinci gallery in San Francisco.[11]