The SECC is super excited for NCECA 2017 in Portland, OR, Future Flux. 

The collective has an exhibition, Social Objects, but THAT’S NOT ALL! See below for our list of Socially Engaged MUST See’s at NCECA this year. We look forward to (re)connecting with our friends, see you there!!

Did we miss anything?? Tweet at us, facebook us, or mention it in the comments!

Social Objects (exhibition) at c3:Initiative

Opening: Thursday, March 23, 2017, 5- 9 pm

This exhibition includes works from 14 members of the SECC who represent a wide range of practices and approaches. Works include Holly Hanessian’s Touch Sensorium, an installation work which invites visitors to explore tactile sensations through clay, Forrest Sincoff Gard’s Waffle Toss, a participatory pay­to­play game involving ceramic waffles and a foam toaster, Amanda Leigh Evans’ From and To Dust, a long­term collaborative urn project exploring death and dying with individuals in the greater Portland area, and M.C. Baumstark’s Menstrual Cup Project, a fun, de­stigmatizing performance with cocktails and souvenir ceramic menstrual cups to casually approach menstruation and its cultural connotations. Other works will move beyond c3’s physical location such as Nicole Seisler’s Studio Souvenirs, a series of pressed porcelain blocks that record specific moments in the artist’s visit to Portland, Jeni Hansen Gard and Lauren Karle’s Weaving Dialogues, a tea and conversation project that invites strangers to share an intimate conversation through a guided question left behind from the previous conversation, Anna Metcalfe’s Upstream, a cup exchange project exploring the Willamette River Watershed, and Nicole Gugliotti’s 10690 Wild Flowers, honors the story of each person accessing abortion services in Oregon (10,690 individuals last year) and raises money for those who are denied access. The exhibited artists include Mary Callahan Baumstark, Henry Crissman, Hamilton Poe, Amanda Leigh Evans, Nicole Gugliotti, Holly Hanessian, Jeni Hansen Gard & Lauren Karle, Anna Metcalfe, Cheyenne Rudolph, Nicole Seisler, Forrest Sincoff Gard, Michael Strand, Juliette Walker, and Summer Zickefoose.

Reconstructing Craft: Feminism and Contemporary Ceramics (exhibition) at PNCA

Opening Reception: Friday, March 24th, 5pm-9pm

“Reconstructing Craft: Feminism and Contemporary Ceramics” features the work of four ceramic artists who employ a broad spectrum of techniques used within contemporary ceramics practice to address varying feminist perspectives.

Artists:
Nicole Gugliotti
Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph
Sarah Tancred
Shalene Valenzuela

Hours during NCECA: Sunday-Saturday 10am-6pm

PANEL: GENDERED CLAY (A/C/TP)

10:15am–11:15am
Oregon Ballroom 201 (Level 2)

Moderator: Mac McCusker
Panelists: Taylor Robenalt, Nick Moen
Gender expectations and social constructs are subjects widely debated in Western culture, especially with the introduction of state laws currently policing gender expression in North Carolina and Alabama. Nick Moen, Taylor Robenalt, and Mac McCusker will each demonstrate how their own gender has affected their work.

Confluence and Bifurcation

Opening Reception: Friday, March 24, 6:00-9:00pm

Now apart for as long as they were together, The Alfred University Ceramics MFA class of 2015 re-converges to examine their developments.

A huge THANK YOU to Lauren Sandler, who compiled the following list of panels on representation.

Here is a quick list from the NCECA program of talks/panels/discussions that address issues of representation, identity, race, gender, social justice and equity. Please add other talks/panels/exhibitions that pertain to these issues for folks interested.

Wednesday
4:00-5:00
C123 (Level 1) TOPICAL DISCUSSION: CERAMICS IN A TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE Group Leader Dennis Meiners Considering the history of climate modelers’ predictions and what is coming to pass, plus what is predicted for the future of earth’s climate, this is a discussion of choices ceramic artists could make in the interest of lowering our carbon footprint.

Thursday
9:00am–9:30am
Oregon Ballroom 202 (Level 2) LECTURE: RECENTER: DECOLONIZE THE CLAY (A/C/TP) By Lauren Sandler Clay as cultural material remembers and permeates our lives. When we see all the hands at work, hear all the voices, learn all the stories, we collaborate to dismantle institutional inequities and empower communities erased from the cannon, classroom and museum. We recenter clay, flux and transform.

10:45am–11:45am
Oregon Ballroom 203 (Level 2) LECTURE: THE CLAY IN THE GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET By Namita Gupta Wiggers Co-Presenters: Bill Will, Demian Dine Yazhi, Sara Siestreem What is the history of clay in Portland and Oregon? This program offers multiple perspectives on the thousands of years of clay history in this state. Moving quickly through history, this program surveys the story of clay from Native American traditions to settler pottery; arts and crafts through Works Progress Administration; academic shifts with the histories of Pacific Stoneware, Oregon Ceramic Studio, Oregon Potter’s Association, and Museum of Contemporary Craft to the present day.

2:45-3:45
Oregon Ballroom 204 (Level 2) LECTURE: HOW TO TEACH ART FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (K) By RJ Christensen Now is the time to teach art for positive social change! But is it daunting to design effective art projects? Produce social justice artwork while learning how to overcome struggles in teaching conceptually challenging art. Gain a support network and learn to design projects that make a difference!

4:00pm–5:00pm
Oregon Ballroom 202 (Level 2) PANEL: ARTIST/MOTHER-MOTHER/ ARTIST (PP) Moderator: Sara Parent-Ramos Panelists: Teruko Nimura ,Eva Kwong , Jeanine Hill A diverse group of artists/mothers will discuss the professional and artistic reality of being a mother and ceramics artist. Topics of interest will include life balance (art/family/ career), residences (and other opportunities) and motherhood as an artistic topic.

Oregon Ballroom 204 (Level 2) CO-LECTURE: RACE TALKS: BUILDING COLLABORATIVE YOUTH PROJECTS By Lisa Jarrett and Amanda EvansPortland-based socially engaged art projects that empower and collaborate with underrepresented youth in our community. Featured projects include KSMoCA (King School Museum of Contemporary Art) at MLK Jr. School and Cherry Blossom Estates in NE Portland.

4:15pm–5:15pm
Oregon Ballroom 201 (Level 2) PANEL: TRANSCULTURAL HYBRID (A/C/TP) Moderator: Hyeyoung Cho Panelists: Inchin Lee, Sunkoo Yuh ,Hoon Lee Authenticity and adaptation specialists from different backgrounds are invited to discuss the issue of cultural lineage, its roots, and transformations in a period where cultures co-exist to invent new ones based on social requirements.

Friday
9:00-10:30
Oregon Ballroom 203 (Level 2) CHIPSTONE PANEL: CONSIDERING THE CENTER / CRAFTING A FUTURE: CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES Moderator: Mike Murawski, PhD Panelists: Deana Dartt , PhD, Rose Simpson, Lillian Pitt From traditional form and practice to radical departures from the customary, Native American art is as diverse as the communities of people it represents and as innovative as the conditions have been challenging. This panel explores the dynamism of today’s Native art landscape, rooted to but not limited by its rich, ancient origins. It considers the future of Indigenous creative processes by focusing on issues that are critical to Native people and humanity at large.

10:15am–11:15am
Oregon Ballroom 201 (Level 2) PANEL: GENDERED CLAY (A/C/TP) Moderator: Mac McCusker Panelists: Taylor Robenalt, Nick Moen Gender expectations and social constructs are subjects widely debated in Western culture, especially with the introduction of state laws currently policing gender expression in North Carolina and Alabama. Nick Moen, Taylor Robenalt, and Mac McCusker will each demonstrate how their own gender has affected their work.

10:30am–11:30am
Oregon Ballroom 204 (Level 2) CO-LECTURE: INTERDISCIPLINARY: ART/PSYCH (E) By Aisha Harrison and Mukti Khanna We will discuss an interdisciplinary course taught at The Evergreen State College called Art, Mindfulness and Psychology: Racial Identity through the Life Span. The course integrated art making, seminar, writing, mindfulness, and somatic practices to explore racial identity and societal health.

12:15pm–1:45pm
Oregon Ballroom 201 (Level 2) PANEL: CULTURAL IMPACT: WOMEN IN CLAY (AH) Moderator: Sonya PauKune Panelists: Sanam Emami, Sin-ying Ho, Ella Maria Ray Ph.D This panel explores the dynamics of contemporary cultural influences on women of diverse cultural backgrounds working in ceramics from sculpture to pottery.

2:00-3:00
C123 (Level 1) LONG TABLE DISCUSSION: THE F WORD: A DIALOGUE ON FEMINISM, CLAY AND INTERSECTIONALITY (SP) By Betsy Redelman The Long Table is an experimental open public forum that is a hybrid performance/ roundtable discussion designed to facilitate dialogue through gathering together people with common interests. Join us for a vibrant discussion on the state of clay, feminism, and intersectionality in our community.

3:15pm–3:45pm Oregon Ballroom 201 (Level 2) LECTURE: SUB ROSA: ORNAMENTED SECRETS (AH) By Djinnaya Stroud Starting with revolutionaries and suffragettes, we will decode the secret messages in the ornamentation of historical ceramics. Then we can explore how contemporary ceramics continue to activate subculture spaces through the intimate symbolic languages hidden within the dominant arts conversation.