Alfred University News

Flower City Pottery Invitational features Alfred University artists

The Flower City Arts Center located in Rochester, NY presents 18 premier ceramic artists from across North America, including several with ties to Alfred University for a long weekend celebrating the best in contemporary clay.


The Flower City Arts Center located in Rochester, NY presents 18 premier ceramic artists from across North America, including several with ties to Alfred University for a long weekend celebrating the best in contemporary clay. The Flower City Pottery Invitational includes a special artist reception on October 21, along with a sale, pottery exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops and talks by the visiting artists throughout the October 22-23 weekend.

Members of the curatorial team include: Adero Willard (visiting assistant professor in ceramic art), Bryan Hopkins, and Lisa Orr (MFA '92). Artists in the invitational include Wes Brown, Lisa Orr (MFA ’92); Kristen Kieffer (BFA '95), Peter Jadoonath, Bryan Hopkins, Adero Willard (BFA '95); Adam Chau; Jane Shellenbarger, Justin Paik Reese, Arthur Halvorsen, Colleen McCall (MFA ‘98), Hannah Niswonger (MFA ‘98), Jonathan Pacheco, Dallas Wooten, Hannah Thompsett (MFA ‘16), James Tingey (Grinding Room technician), Katie Fee (MFA '22).

As stated on its website, planning for the Flower City Pottery Invitational began in early 2014 when area potters Matt Metz and Richard Aerni discussed bringing fellow esteemed ceramic artists together for a weekend exhibit, following the example of similar shows like the Old Church Pottery Invitational in Demarest, NJ and the popular American Pottery Festival in Minneapolis.

Rochester seemed like the perfect city to hold a similar event, being in the middle of a clay mecca, with RIT's School for American Craft and Alfred University close by, as well as strong clay programs in Syracuse and Buffalo. Metz and Aerni partnered with Flower City Arts Center and, together with artist Peter Pincus (BFA ’05, MFA ’11), invited colleagues from around the country to participate in the inaugural event in October 2015.