Craft Contemporary‘s new fundraiser, POTLUCK, celebrates 30+ clay artists, in a two-week-long auction
POTLUCK is an online fundraiser and two-week ceramic celebration from October 19 to October 31, 2020 which includes virtual clay workshops, online artist conversations, studio tours, and other online programming featuring artists that have been part of Craft Contemporary’s clay and ceramic exhibitions, educational programming, and marketplaces.
During times of upheaval, we look to art to bring us together – to discuss and share our thoughts, to process the world around us, and to simply connect. How do we do this in the midst of a movement to eradicate racial injustice and a global pandemic? At Craft Contemporary, we’re hosting a virtual potluck, and we’d love for you to take part. POTLUCK will include virtual clay workshops, Instagram conversations with artists, virtual studio tours and featured ceramic pieces. As a culmination of the events, we’ll host an online auction of all donated ceramic pieces.
The American Alliance of Museums has predicted as many as 30 percent of museums could fail in this crisis. Creating new spaces for people to come together isn’t just vital to our mission today, it’s critical to our survival. Every cent raised will go to maintaining the operations of Craft Contemporary including K-12 school programs, community craft forums, workshops, artist promotion and conversation facilitation around exhibitions.
Please join us in bringing people together through craft and supporting our small but mighty spot in the Los Angeles art landscape. Auction link.
Artists include: Alex Anderson, Ana Cho, Anabel Juárez, Angela Chvarak, Ben Medansky, Cheryl Ann Thomas, Cynthia Lahti, Donna DeSoto, Ehren Tool, Emily Sudd, Galia Linn, Gerardo Monterrubio, Gina Zycher Ceramics, Gopi Shah Ceramics, Heo Ceramics, Jen E Ceramics, Jenny Hata Blumenfield, Joan Takayama-Ogawa, Kathryn Hillier, Koik Ceramics, Kristen Erickson, Linda Lopez, Linda Smith, Lizbeth Navarro, Miwak Junior, Nicole Seisler, Patsy Cox, Pawena Studio, Rami Kim, Ross Callahan, Sharif Farrag, Tome Ceramics, Trevor King, Wanxin Zhang, Wayne Perry, Yuko & Nobu, and many more!
Some of POTLUCK 2020 Programs
Member Studio Tour: Wayne Perry
Join L.A.-based artist Wayne Perry for an exciting tour of his studio and look at what he is currently creating. Wayne combines pottery, ceramic sculpture, and painting to explore and express the current state of politics, community, and personal histories. His incredibly versatile works have been shown in numerous exhibitions around the city, including Craft Contemporary’s first clay biennial, Melting Point.
Clay Conversations: A Gift from the Bill Stern Collection
Artist and writer Marisela Norte is joined by longtime friend and Bill Stern Collection liaison, Kene J. Rosa. Hear stories about the incredible objects in this collection and their place in the history of California ceramics. The conversation will be hosted by Craft Contemporary Executive Director Suzanne Isken. This is an online, Zoom conversation.
Public Studio Tour: Walter McConnell
We are joined by artist Walter McConnell — all the way from Belmont, New York— for a rare and intimate look into his artist studio. Walter was part of Craft Contemporary’s first clay biennial “Melting Point: Movements in Contemporary Clay,” with a monumental installation of 3,000 pounds of wet clay, which was sculpted into luscious vegetation-like forms encapsulated in a cylindrical plastic sheet. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet Walter and see what he has been making in his studio! This is an online, Zoom program.
Public Studio Tour: Julia Haft-Candell
L.A.-based artist Julia Haft-Candell invites us into her studio for a unique look into her current projects and artistic practice. Julia uses a variety of clay forming techniques including coil building, slab construction, and carving. She often combines these techniques with a complex vocabulary of forms and symbols that she has developed throughout her practice. Haft-Candell has exhibited her work in numerous exhibitions around Los Angeles and the U.S., including Craft Contemporary’s first clay biennial, “Melting Point: Movements in Contemporary Clay. This is an online Zoom program.
Porcelain Dumplings Workshop with Ling Chun
Hong Kong-born and Seattle-based artist Ling Chun leads an intimate porcelain clay workshop. Ling will demonstrate a variety of clay techniques including working with brightly colored porcelain, rolling paper-thin slabs, and forming porcelain fortune cookies and dumplings! This is an online Zoom workshop.
Clay Conversations: Memory, Histories, and Clay in Communities of Color
Join artists Linda Lopez, Patsy Cox, and Anabel Juárez in a conversation exploring the meaning that clay has held in communities of color. As one of the most timeless, accessible, universal art forms, clay has always served as a way for communities to pass down knowledge, as well as connect to land, histories, and each other. Zoom conversation moderated by Andres Payan Estrada.
Contact
info@craftcontemporary.org