‘Voyage of Lost Keys’ in honor of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24th)

by | Apr 24, 2021 | exhibition

Photo by Ironside Photography / Stephen Ironside.

April 24th marks the commemoration of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, a day to honor the memories of 1 million people killed in the early 1920s by the Ottoman government in Turkey. No sitting U.S. president has marked the occasion for fear of alienating the Turkish government, and sharing the stories of those whose lives were taken—or even calling this act of attempted ethnic cleansing a genocide at all—remains controversial for some.

Artist Aimée Papazian pays tribute to her lost and displaced ancestors with “Voyage of Lost Keys,” a permanent installation at Fayetteville Public Library, in Fayetteville, AR. A murmuration of 2,000 porcelain keys, among which is a replica of a key that was found in the ashes of her grandfather’s pillaged home in Turkey, the piece unlocks the history of Papazian’s family and of her people. It also speaks to refugees everywhere, including in our own time. “‘Voyage of Lost Keys’ is a way to imagine a mass migration—a way to think about people who have lost their homes and their place in the world as still being somehow connected to each other,” Papazian says.

Hrag Vartanian, editor of Hyperallergic, calls the work “moving”; The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette calls it “magical.”

www.aimeepapazian.com

movie day: Wei Zhang

by | Apr 21, 2021 | movie day

Zhang’s work weaves in and around the intersections of design and craft fostering a practice within both Industrial Design and Ceramics. Fusing technology into traditional clay techniques, his pieces combine elements of furniture, sculpture, installation and experimentation. His forms are inspired from his travels, captured in his photography, from the mountains of Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, China to the interior volcanos of Iceland. In Fall 2021, Zhang will enter the Global Innovation Design (MA) at Royal College of Art in London in hopes to further his aesthetic fusions and broaden expectations of what clay can do.

This series highlights the intersections of art, design, theory, social justice and research in interviewed conversations within the RISD community, its faculty and students.

Written | Directed | Edited by Holly Gaboriault [MA Global Arts + Cultures ’21]

Original Music by Antonio Forte

Women in Clay 4: Gasworks NYC Zoom Workshop Series

by | Apr 6, 2021 | workshops

Sundays, April 25-June 27, 2-4pm EST

This series of workshops will bring together the talents and perspectives of 10 women working in clay from around the country. Each week a different instructor will demo one of their special skills or favorite techniques online via zoom. Price is for all 10 workshops. BIPOC folks pay half.  Email [email protected] for a discount code. Here’s the line up:

Week 1: Melissa Weiss will demonstrate how to handbuild large vases using coil building.

Week 2: Nala Turner from Carlynne Ceramics will discuss visual characterizations of trauma and the resilience of the black body in relation to social narrative + power; and demonstrate finding safety through the ceramic process.

Week 3: Candice Methe will demonstrate how to handbuild a lidded vessel using coiling, cutting, and darting.

Week 4: Jen Allen will demonstrate how she hand-builds teapots discussing form and texture along the way.

Week 5: Gabo Martini will demonstrate throwing in sections and large-scale sgraffito.

Week 6: Dina Nur Satti from Nur Ceramics will discuss the spiritual and communal essence of pottery and building asymmetrical vases and embellishments.

week 7: Yiyi Mendoza will demonstrate slab building and making funky plates.

week 8: Sara Morales-Morgan will demonstrate how to create illustrative surfaces using underglaze and china paint.

Week 9: Zoe Dering will discuss form and texture while demo-ing a carved and altered wheel-thrown pot.

Week 10: Tiffany Saw will demonstrate traditional carving techniques from Jing de Zhen.

Register HERE.