2024 PROGRAM GUIDE AND PRESENTERS
NCECA’s 58th Annual Conference, Coalescence, in Richmond, Virginia,
March 20-23, 2024.

NCECA’s 58th Annual Conference, Coalescence, Richmond, Virginia, March 20-23, 2024.
NCECA Demonstrating Artists

Paul S. Briggs

Andréa Keys Connell

Jabulile Nala

Justin Paik Reese

2024 NCECA Conference Poster featuring Elissa Armstrong

**Register today for NCECA’s 58th Annual Conference, Coalescence, Richmond, Virginia!**

Click to download the 2024 NCECA Program Guide and Exhibition Listings PDFs.

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2024 Resource Hall Information

NCECA is driven to bring awareness to sustainable ceramic practices and their impact on the global environment. In 2024, green membership and conference practices will help reduce NCECA’s carbon footprint. This year we are offering a free digital download for NCECA’s 2024 conference poster and a print on demand option.

Click below to download a free printable PDF version of the conference poster:

Free Download PDF Conference Poster

Please note: the content of this page is updated weekly and is subject to change without prior notice.

2024 NCECA Demonstrating Artists
Paul S. Briggs and Jabulile Nala

Paul S. Briggs

Jabulile Nala

THURSDAY, MARCH 21 - FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024

Paul S. Briggs
Every Pinch Counts
Hand-turned (pinched) ceramic vessels and pots will be the demonstration focus. Briggs will move clay upward and around the expanding form, hopefully mindful of every pinch. The vessel becomes a creation of the process of growing and expanding a form, and oneself, from one piece of clay without addition or subtraction.

Jabulile Nala
Making Ukhamba Zulu Beer Pot: Start to Finish
Attendees will see how we start the narrow base Ukhamba with a small ball of clay, thru coiling and shaping the full pot. On the second day, Nala will smooth and burnish the pot with a stone to prepare for the design. Traditional designs use a combination of amansumpa, ukuloba and iskoshi. Nala will be talking about the importance of Zulu beer pot, how each potter contributes something unique, and how we are always innovating within our tradition.

2024 NCECA Demonstrating Artists
Andréa Keys Connell and
Justin Paik Reese

Andréa Keys Connell

Justin Paik Reese

THURSDAY, MARCH 21 - FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024

Andréa Keys Connell
Hollow Building at any Scale
Connell will demonstrate the hollow building techniques she uses to create large-scale figurative work. These techniques translate to working at any scale you desire!

Justin Paik Reese
Patterning and Carving Large Thrown Forms
This demonstration will cover Reese's personal processes of creating large composite forms and his approach to patterning and perforations.

2024 NCECA Keynote Presenters
Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis and
Valerie Cassel Oliver

Valerie Cassel Oliver

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2024
Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis
The Rise
The gift of failure is a riddle: it will always be both the void and the start of infinite possibility. Part investigation into a psychological mystery, part an argument about creativity and art, and part a soulful celebration of the determination and courage of the human spirit, Sarah Elizabeth Lewis makes the case that many of the world’s greatest achievements have come from understanding the central importance of failure.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024
Valerie Cassel Oliver
Wonder Working Power
This lecture explores the conceptual underpinning of ceramics in the African American South and their imprint on contemporary practices today. Primary in this exchange is the work of Theaster Gates, whose work will be on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.