In 2018, Alex Kraft and Melanie Shaw produced Critical Function, a stunning exhibition for the Pittsburg NCECA. Four internationally recognized critics and curators: Gail M. Brown, Janet Koplos, Paul Mathieu, and Anthony Merino each selected ten functional artists, whose work they admired. The exhibition engaged artists, students, collectors, and educators equally; making for a critical and commercial success. For 2020, Kraft and Shaw have kept the essential framework but reworked the selected guest jurors to reflect the NCECA theme: multiVAlent: clay, mindfulness, and memory. Bernadette and Neil Mansfield, Jill Foote-Hutton, Carole Epp, and Garth Johnson agreed to contribute their expertise and experience to this endeavor.
In the last 40 years there has been a continued pattern of exponential growth of engagement in the field of ceramic art. Without question, all four jurors have played important and mindful roles in promoting contemporary ceramics. Taking the main theme of multiVAlent into consideration—one characteristic connecting this diverse jury is the following: each person meaningfully expands the way ceramics are examined and promoted locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Each of the jurors pioneered new ways to promote ceramic art and ceramic artists. Bernadette and Neil Mansfield edit Ceramics: Art and Perception and Yarrobil, continuing Janet Mansfield’s vision of producing truly international ceramic journals. Jill Foote-Hutton, a maker in her own right, is Editor of The Studio Potter. She promotes social craft practice through www.whistlepigtales.com, sociallyengagedcraftcollective.org, and created the MJ Wood Residency as well as an Artists as Writer’s Residency at Red Lodge Clay. Carole Epp compiles the well-known Musing About Mud blog and Instagram feed, created makeanddo.ca to promote Canadian ceramic artists, and is an internationally celebrated artist (caroleepp.com). Garth Johnson is the Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum with writing contributions such as the blog extremecraft.com and 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse. All were early pioneers in the use of social media and the world wide web to promote ceramics. Each juror carries forward a personal mission that promotes contemporary ceramics through community-oriented educational outreach. They inform their audience of current practice in relation to historical tradition and technical memory in the field of ceramics.
As with the first iteration of the exhibition, none of the jurors were given directions as to how they should make their selections. The only restrictions placed were not to include any of the artists who took part in the 2018 exhibition, and to consider their own interpretation of “functional ceramics” in their decisions. Critical Function 2 takes the memory of the previous exhibition forward in this exciting new iteration.
NCECA Concurrent exhibition. Sponsored by Visual Arts Center, 1812 W Main St, Richmond, Virginia 23220
Hermannsburg Potters have an exciting position available for an Art Centre Manager
The Hermannsburg Potters belong to a small community 130 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs. They are famous for their colourful terracotta pots which tell stories about their culture and where they live; their Country, the mission days, bush tucker and their daily community life.
The role of the Art Centre Manager at Hermannsburg Potters is the management of the Art Centre including arts and artist support, administration, financial management, servicing an Aboriginal governing body, marketing, sales, promotion, funding, supporting cultural maintenance and project support as instructed by the Hermannsburg Potters board of Directors. The Manager also supervises and works with part-time Aboriginal Arts worker and support staff.
If you would like to apply or find out more about this exciting opportunity please download the job package below.
Please email applications to [email protected]. All applications must include a cover letter, current CV, and letter addressing the above selection criteria. Applications must reach our office by 5:00pm CST on Friday 13th March 2020.
Clay for Australia, 2020 is a global fundraising project aimed at assisting those directly impacted by the Australian Bushfires. Conceived by ceramic artist, Vipoo Srivilasa, it follows on from a series of four previous “Clay for….” fundraisers that have provided a platform for clay workers from around the world to support worthwhile philanthropic or charitable causes. To date, more than $100,000AUD has been raised.
Clay for Australia, 2020 facebook page will facilitate clay workers displaying work(s) for sale, and supporters viewing works and buying directly from them. The sale will commence on the 24th of January, and conclude the following week on the 31st. Transactions are to be negotiated between the sellers and buyers, with the money from these transactions donated to one of the following charities:
Wildlife Rescue Emergency Fund – https://www.wires.org.au/ (an organisation assisting wildlife in NSW impacted by the fires)
Food Bank – https://www.foodbank.org.au/ (delivering emergency food relief and water to East Gippsland, helping firefighters and local communities caught up in the bushfires.)
“Ayumi Horie reflects on the groundbreaking Instagram project, Pots in Action—why she started it and why she has decided to finish it.”
“@potsinaction has run its course; I’ve changed and so has Instagram. After 2,400 posts covering a vast range of clay and ceramics globally, @potsinaction will be archived as a website so it can remain a functional resource for the field. @potsinaction expanded a liminal space between pop culture and academia. It turned on people outside the field of ceramics to ceramics by introducing them to a world beyond Paint Your Own Pottery and stuffy museum cases. It became a staple resource for students doing research and for professionals in the field, it dug deeply into what we thought we knew well. For four years, this collaborative project consistently created new content and tried to show not only the best work, but also the unexpected and ubiquitous ways that clay touches lives.”
Read more and DONATE to the archiving of this incredible resource HERE.
Please help Steve Harrison and Janine King, our two friends and teachers, to rebuild their pottery workshop. After working tirelessly these last weeks to protect their beloved property, they have unfortunately lost both their pottery workshop and studio to the bush fires that have ravaged the village of Balmoral. Luckily, they managed to save the house, but any donation you make will help them rebuild the space they use for their livelihood and where we have spent so many special times creating and sharing with them.
