call for submissions: NCECA Prospectus For 2018 Concurrent Exhibition Proposals

DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 (EST)

52st ANNUAL NCECA CONFERENCE: CrossCurrents: Clay and Culture
Wednesday March 14 – Saturday, March 17, 2018
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Overview
The exhibition and expansion of
contemporary ceramic practice will include diverse approaches to ideas
and senses of materiality involving clay and process. NCECA’s annual
conference is enriched by the innovation and vision that emerges from
our community to present ceramic art of the highest caliber in the form
of Concurrent Exhibitions (CEs). These exhibitions make ceramic art
visible and accessible to communities in which the conference is based.
Concurrent Exhibitions also provide a platform for participating artists
to engage with the global audience of ceramic enthusiasts to expand,
challenge, and celebrate critical and aesthetic horizons of art made
with clay. NCECA promotes Concurrent Exhibitions through the print
conference guide, app, website, Blog and social media. While NCECA makes
efforts to cluster the shows within art/ cultural districts to maximize
viewer attendance, it is not able to guarantee that all exhibition
venues will be included on tour routes.

2018 Exhibitions Focus
NCECA seeks exhibition proposals
that incorporate clay as the principal medium of expression and have
conceptual resonance with the theme of its 52nd annual conference, CrossCurrents: Clay and Culture.
The conference will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in March
2018. Cross-currents within Pittsburgh’s three rivers are traversed by
446 bridges. These natural and cultural features are vibrant metaphors
for the intersectionality, significance, and experience of different
cultural constructs. Traditions and innovations coexist throughout the
ceramic medium’s history. Our creative work with ceramic art in the 21st
century can be a catalyst to generate dialog and empathy. When art
grapples with change through underrepresented ideas, new models of
creating, teaching, and learning, it has the capacity to crystalize
experiences of diversity and notions of community. Through these
exhibitions, NCECA hopes to share and promote innovative approaches to
ceramic art that explore and highlight the experiences of diverse
cultures within a dynamic society. 

full details here: nceca.net/concurrent-exhibition-proposals/

movie day: Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art

Theaster Gates, a potter by training and a social activist by calling,
wanted to do something about the sorry state of his neighborhood on the
south side of Chicago. So he did, transforming abandoned buildings to
create community hubs that connect and inspire those who still live
there (and draw in those who don’t). In this passionate talk, Gates
describes his efforts to build a “miniature Versailles” in Chicago, and
he shares his fervent belief that culture can be a catalyst for social
transformation in any city, anywhere. 

must read: Habiba El-Sayed: The Ceramic Artist Moulding The Pain of Muslims

“Habiba El-Sayed is an upcoming Torontonian ceramic artist whose work
focuses on exploring her identity as a biracial Guyanese-Egyptian and a
Muslim womyn living in a post 9/11 world. She has secured a coveted
residency at Harbourfront Craft Studios, has had her work exhibited at
the Gardiner Museum and most recently (Mus)Interpreted, a group
exhibition showcasing work by emerging and established young Muslim
womyn artists in the Greater Toronto Area.”

Read the full article by Asmaa Bacchus here: mvslim.com/habiba-el-sayed-the-ceramic-artist-moulding-the-pain-of-muslims/

View more of the artist’s work here: www.habibael-sayed.com