One-day symposium at West Dean College

Friday 26 January 2018, 11am-6pm

Reflecting the resurgence of craft and skills-based making in art over the past decade, this one-day symposium explores common ground between contemporary art and studio ceramics. Emphasising the commonalities between artist and craftsperson, the event focuses on practical, theoretical, and professional aspects of working with clay, embodied in its malleability and resistance - its plasticity.

The symposium will bring together a range of voices within contemporary ceramics, such as the world renowned curator and writer, Glenn Adamson and leading studio potter, Julian Stair. Dr. David Stent will present a speculative dialogue between a ceramicist and philosopher, and artists Caroline Achaintre and Florence Peake will demonstrate the possibilities of clay in light of two recent West Dean projects, coordinated in collaboration with Cass Sculpture Foundation and the De La Warr Pavilion. West Dean College alumnus, Bouke de Vries, will be discussing the crossover between ceramics conservation and fine art practice, and the Turner Prize winning architecture and design collective, Assemble, will focus on Granby Workshop - a ceramics workshop based in the Toxteth area of Liverpool.

The symposium will be a day of discussion, identifying common ground, appreciating difference, and celebrating clay as a material that feeds the imagination.

Tickets £25 including buffet lunch. For more information click here.

The symposium will be free to all West Dean College students on accredited programmes.