Matter of Clay III – Fundraising campaign

by Carole Epp | May 8, 2011 | Uncategorized

Want to contribute to a good cause promoting the dissemination of Canadian Ceramic Art?
Please visit the link here to see how you can get involved with helping The Matter of Clay III Catalogue come to life.For more details and background please read the following written by Jonathon:The Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery has been working hard to promote Canadian ceramic art at a national and international level. In 2001 we had our first major exhibition titled Matter of Clay. It was the largest national ceramic exhibition to take place in over 30 years. It was a great success for the artists who were represented. Matter of Clay II followed in 2006 and this year Matter of Clay III will open August 4th, 2011In 2010 we won the prestigious NICHE award for marketing. This in itself was remarkable as we have never had the funds to launch a major advertising campaign. Instead we have relied on our website www.jonathons.ca and that most potent advertising vehicle; word of mouth. Promoting Canadian ceramic art is my passion. It also provides me with my living and provides many ceramic artists with a significant portion of their living. Many artists have said that we have sold more of their significant exhibition pieces than any one in their career. Some of those careers span almost sixty years! An important tool needed for collectors interested in Canadian art is documentation. It was for this reason that I sponsored a series of ClaySpots interviews and had them uploaded to YouTube. This year for Matter of Clay III we want to produce a catalogue so that the artists will have documentation of their participation in Matter of Clay III. The catalogue will be a permanent record of the artists who participated and the works they exhibited. It will also provide much needed documentation of artists’ marks; the identifiers that indicate who made the work and often when it was made. The result will be a minimum one hundred page catalogue. My goal is to produce a noteworthy document, profusely illustrated that will serve as a legacy and testament to the talented Canadian artists participating in Matter of Clay III. In 2000 I began the gallery with a $7,500 overdraft. The gallery has flourished by staying true to my concept the Axis of Art that is: The respectful understanding of the relationship that is the triad of Creator-Connector-Collector. I realize that that to continue to advocate for clay artists I need some help. That is the reason I am using this forum to reach out in hopes of raising the funds necessary to produce this catalogue. If I was a publicly funded gallery it would not be an issue. The truth is I am not. I need help with this. I have arranged some perks for those who help make this happen. Canada is a large country. I believe that it is important that Canada wide events such as Matter of Clay III happen. It is events such as this that serve as a linchpin to keeping us united. If you want to help and it is not possible to do so monetarily then act as an ambassador for Canadian art and forward this to anyone you feel may be interested in getting the word out. Thank you and please if you are in the neighbourhood; Stop by and visit the gallery. We are located in London Ontario at 258 Dundas Street! Thank you Jonathon