Artisan’s Asylum comes to Allston
Harvard University on Tuesday welcomed Artisan’s Asylum, a local nonprofit arts collaborative, to Allston, where it will make medical gowns used as personal protective equipment (PPE). The gowns will be used in nonsurgical settings such as dentists, hospitals, and even child care centers. The Asylum, which calls itself “an inclusive refuge for teaching, learning, and practice of fabrication” maintains workshops for artisans in a range of specialties, including woodworking, jewelry, and 3D printing. When the novel coronavirus shut down most businesses and organizations across the state, its members and volunteers turned to making gowns, face masks, and mask-making tools. This week’s move will bring that work to Harvard-owned space at 100 Holton St. as part of the University’s supportive response to the pandemic, while the Somerville location returns its focus to artwork. The new agreement will allow Artisan’s Asylum to immediately scale up and expand its production capabilities. It hopes to shift...