NEWPORT, R.I. – A cross-cultural symposium that will bring together educators and ceramists from China and the United States will be presented at Salve Regina University on Friday and Saturday, March 25-26. The two-day program, free and open to the public, will be presented at the Antone Academic Center, corner of Lawrence and Leroy avenues.
The symposium will bring together artists and scholars to explore the history and cultural exchange that has taken place in Jingdezhen, China. Jingdezhen has been the center of China’s porcelain production since the Han Dynasty (220 B.C. – 220 A.D.). Presentations will highlight the history, economic landscape and contemporary creative exchange through studio demonstrations, a gallery exhibition, film screening and panel discussions.
The symposium was organized by Salve Regina professor of art/ceramics Jay Lacouture, who served as a visiting artist in Jingdezhen for five weeks during fall 2009 at the West Virginia University/Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute International Ceramic Program.
Advanced registration is suggested by contacting Gianna Sullivan at (401) 341-2208 or gianna.sullivan@salve.edu.
Following is the schedule:
Friday, March 25
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ceramic Artists Studio Demonstrations (throwing, finishing decaling). Antone Academic Center, ceramics studio. Demonstrating artists: Bob Anderson, Li Chao and Jay Lacouture.
5 p.m.
Film screening – “Broken Pots Broken Dreams”
A documentary film about the changing face of the porcelain industry in Jingdezhen by Maris Gillette. Antone Academic Center, DiStefano Lecture Hall.
6 p.m.
Exhibition Opening and Artist Reception
“Exchange and Inspiration” – featuring the work of Li Chao, Bob Anderson, Jay Lacouture and Marvin Sweet. Antone Academic Center, Hamilton Gallery.
The exhibition, which will run through April 17, will also include the work of the late artist and author Marvin Sweet (1953-2010) who studied and wrote about the cross-cultural impact of Chinese and American ceramics. His book, “The Yixing Effect: Echoes of a Chinese Scholar,” chronicles the influence of traditional Yixing tea ware on contemporary American ceramics.
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 26
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Symposium Presentations, Antone Academic Center, DiStefano Lecture Hall.
Bob Anderson, M.F.A., director of the West Virginia University/Jingedezhen Ceramic Institute (JCI) International Ceramics Program.
Li Chao, M.F.A., resident director of the WVU/JCI International Ceramics Program and professor at JCI, China
Maris Gillette, Ph.D., professor of anthropology at Haverford University and Director of the documentary film, “Broken Pots, Broken Dreams.” Gillette’s film explores China’s transition to a market economy and what it has meant for porcelain workers in Jingdezhen. As China has changed from an economic system with worker benefits and protections, to the current system where each worker must fend for him or herself, ceramists must redefine their lives. With captivating footage of porcelain production and the neighborhoods of Jingdezhen, Gillette chronicles the experiences of porcelain producers as the make the transition from state workers to private entrepreneurs.
Elizabeth Lacouture, Ph.D., assistant professor of East Asian Studies and History at Colby College.
Moderator: Jay Lacouture, M.F.A., professor of art/ceramics at Salve Regina University.
“Exchange and Inspiration: A cross-cultural dialogue on Chinese and American ceramics” is sponsored by Salve Regina’s art department and international studies program, with support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH).
For more information, contact Gianna Sullivan at (401) 341-2208.