OMAHA, Nebraska — Join us for Present Tense, the American Craft Council’s 12th national conference, October 13 – 15, 2016, at the Kaneko in Omaha, Nebraska, featuring the unveiling of a new installation by ceramic artist Molly Hatch.
Above Image: Molly Hatch, Deconstructed Lace: After Royal Copenhagen, 2014, 93 hand-thrown and hand-painted porcelain plates with glaze and underglaze, 6 x 99 x 1.5 inches. Photograph by John Polak, Courtesy of Todd Merrill Studio
Omaha Mural
This is no ordinary conference. There will be no lectures, no concurrent programming, and no sessions longer than 45 minutes. Instead, the format calls for moderated conversations between craft luminaries with contrasting points of view – interspersed with opportunities for participants to talk among themselves.
The unusual format will foster lively dialogue across disciplines and generations and promote a keen sense of community. Featured speakers include: Otto von Busch, Sonya Clark, Tino Chow, and Jessica Hische. In six thematic sessions, you’ll hear from pairs of speakers and moderators – including Ayumi Horie, Michael J. Strand, and Mark Shapiro, to name a few – who will debate apprenticeship and education, institutional leadership, process, community, museum and interpretation, and criticism.
Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2015, mixed media, including sifter, wire, bugle beads, buttons, upholstery, and mannequin, 81.5 x 23.5 x 27.5 inches. Photograph by James Prinz Photography, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Click to see a larger image.
In conjunction with the conference, ACC will hold its biennial American Craft Council Awards ceremony to induct seven individuals into its College of Fellows: Nick Cave, Michael Cooper, Françoise Grossen, Chris Gustin, Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, Hank Murta Adams, and Edward S. Cooke, Jr. (Honorary Fellow); honor Sara S. Morgan with the Aileen Osborn Webb Award for Philanthropy; honor Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) with the Award of Distinction; and present the 2016 Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship to Gerhardt Knodel (Fellow, 1993).
Another highlight of Present Tense will be the unveiling of a new Molly Hatch ceramic platter installation, commissioned for the conference. Hatch has used images she found in the ACC Library archives as inspiration for the piece. Conference supporters who donate at least $5,000 will get to keep an original Hatch platter from the installation when the conference concludes.
Left: Photograph by PD Rearick. Chris Gustin, Double Vase, 1987, stoneware, 24 x 17 x 13 inches. Photograph by Dean Powell Photography. Right:Gerhardt Knodel, Whoosh, 2011, mixed media, electronic components, 132 x 96 x 84 inches.
The setting for both gala and conference is the Kaneko, “an open space for open minds that nurtures and promotes creativity.” The Kaneko is headquartered in three turn-of-the-century warehouses in Omaha’s burgeoning craft hub.
Have amazing conversations. Meet smart people. Leave inspired.
See you in Omaha! For more information on the conference and to register, visit craftcouncil.org/conference.
Françoise Grossen, San Mateo, 1981, manilla, cotton rope, approx. 50 x 84 x 84 inches. Pictured at Green St. Studio, New York, NY. Photograph courtesy of the artist.
Gerhardt Knodel, It Had To Be You: Genomia, 2015, cotton, polyester, fiberglass, photography, 70 x 84 inches. Click to see a larger image.
(Left to Right) – Watie White, Omaha-based painter & printmaker, American Craft Council conference team Rachel K., Monica H, Elissa C., Julie H. Lauren K. and Megan Hunt, Omaha-based entrepreneur
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