Alfred University faculty, students, alumni participants at 2022 NCECA Conference

ALFRED, NY – Alfred University is well represented at this week’s 2022 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference, which opened Wednesday, March 16, in Sacramento, CA, and runs through Saturday, March 19. A number of Alfred University alumni, faculty, and students are taking part in the four-day event.

The 2022 NCECA Conference, “Fertile Ground,” is being held as a hybrid (combination in-person/virtual) event at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento and in nearby venues. The conference includes lectures and speaker presentations, panel discussions, demonstrations, and student critiques. In addition, a host of Alfred University alumni, students, and faculty and staff are participating in numerous exhibitions.

“Belonging” is the title of the main NCECA Annual 2022 exhibition. An opening reception is set for Friday, March 18; it will remain on view through May 8, 2022. Artists affiliated with Alfred University chosen by exhibition curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Maboy are Joshua Schutz ’20 M.F.A. and Lydia Thompson ’85 M.F.A.

Four Alfred University students—Tony Maker, Noah Greene, Laura Jenels, and Paige O’Toole—have works included in the Juried Student Exhibition. An opening reception is set for Friday, March 18; it will remain on view through April 15, 2022.

Five Alfred University alumni are represented in prestigious exhibition of Archie Brey Foundation Resident Artists: Maura Wright ’18 M.F.A., Soojin Choi ’18 M.F.A., Uriel Caspi ’21 M.F.A., Yeh Rim Lee ’17 M.F.A., and Steven Young Lee ’98 B.F.A, ’04 M.F.A. The exhibition opened March 3 and remains on view through Saturday, March 19; a reception is set for Thursday, March 17.

The 25th Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition is the premier annual juried ceramic competition for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students in the United States. John Gill ’75 M.F.A., emeritus professor of ceramic art in Alfred University’s School of Art and Design, juried this year’s exhibition, which is on view through Friday, March 18. The National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition is designed to highlight outstanding creativity with clay by school aged youth.

Each year, Alfred University awards five scholarships to participants in the exhibition, including the Val Cushing Memorial Scholarship, which provides full tuition. The other four—the Wallace C. Higgins Memorial Scholarship, Marion L. Fosdick Memorial Scholarship, Theodore A. Randall Memorial Scholarship, and William D. Parry Memorial Scholarship—provide 90 percent of tuition.

Shown in the photo above is 2022 Val Cushing Memorial Scholarship recipient Jacob Martinez, from Desert Hills High School in St. George, UT. Jacob is flanked by Maria Bentley, associate director of arts enrollment in the Alfred University Office of Admissions (left), and Brandon Berrett. Jacob’s teacher at Desert Hills High (right).

Cory Brown, ’17 M.F.A. (ceramic art) is a panelist in a discussion titled “Glaze Doctors.” The panelists —all knowledgeable and experienced makers, researchers, and educators working on and with glazes—provide insight on problems associated with glaze and glazing.

Alfred University has organized an event running concurrent to the conference. The “Womxn of Alfred” exhibition highlights mentorship and intersectional feminism through artworks by female/trans/femme graduate candidates and their faculty, teaching fellows, and technicians at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred. The exhibition is organized by Katie Fee and includes work by Linda Sikora, Adero Willard, Megan Smythe, Hannah Thompsett, Margeaux Claude, Fee, Noah Greene, Jackie Head, Jolie Ngo, Javaria Ahmad, Paige O’Toole, Rose Schreiber-Stainthorp, and Victoria Walton.