2026 NCECA Presentation Proposals
Volumes, Detroit, Michigan
Presentations will take place during Volumes, the 60th annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, Detroit, Michigan, March 25–28, 2026.
Presentation proposals are limited to one submission per individual across all formats. Individuals who submit their own proposals may be listed as presenters on another applicant's proposal if it is for a multi-person presentation.
For questions about the Presentation proposals please contact: presentations@nceca.net
NCECA recommends using Google Chrome or Firefox to apply.
Overview of Presentation Formats
Click on the button to download a PDF that outlines all the different presentation formats.
2025 NCECA Lecture: Mata Ortiz Ceramics History and Stories, Carla Martinez miniatures, Diego Valles. Photograph by Jay Hemphill
2026 NCECA LECTURES AND CO-LECTURES PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Lecture and Co-lecture presentations are an opportunity for one or two presenters to share a focused exploration of a topic. The final 5-10 minutes of the session are reserved for questions and comments from the audience.
Read through the Lecture and Co-Lecture PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Lecture and Co-Lecture CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 NCECA Panel: Making History, Pattie Chalmers,
Photo credit: Crystal Heis
2026 NCECA PANEL PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Panel presentations feature a moderator and two or three presenters who bring a variety of perspectives to a subject. The moderator makes introductions and gives an overview of the topic for the session. Each presenter then shares their viewpoint through a brief illustrated presentation, followed by a moderated discussion during the second half of the presentation. The final 10-15 minutes of the session are reserved for questions and comments from the audience.
Read through the Panel PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Panel CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 NCECA Short Form: Cultural Adjustment: A Tale of Adaptation, Shannon “owo” Webb.
2026 NCECA SHORT FORM PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Short Form Short Form are 10-minute, image-rich presentations that provide a glimpse into a resource, initiative, experience, or event of interest to the ceramics community. First-time presenters, students, international participants, and others interested in sharing work and ideas in this fast-paced and varied conference programming strand, please apply!
Read through the Short Form PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Short Form CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 NCECA Clay Conversation: Growth Through International Travel, Eric Kao
2026 NCECA CLAY CONVERSATION PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Clay Conversations are interactive networking sessions that foster dialogue around shared interests and issues at the outset of the conference. The goals of session initiators are to frame the topic and engage all participants in the discussion.
Peer-to-peer conversational exchange is the goal of these sessions. Please submit a Clay Conversations proposal if you are interested in convening a group of people to share a discussion surrounding a topic you care about. Alternative submission portals exist for more formal presentations involving image presentation technology.
Read through the Clay Conversation PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Clay Conversation CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 NCECA Project Space: Salt to Salt, Nina Samuels with participant Brooke Hanson
2026 NCECA PROJECTS SPACE PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Projects Space is a presentation opportunity for ceramic artists to create interactive, time-based, performative, relational, or site-responsive work during the annual NCECA conference. Successful proposals will be those that address the concept of VOLUMES, use the medium of clay as a central focus, and engage with materials, processes, and audiences in unique and unconventional ways. Projects Space proposals can be submitted by individuals or a team of up to three artists.
Artists will create their works on-site within a blank assigned space, approximately 10’ x 20’, with no walls. Works are meant to occur, grow, and change throughout the duration of the event, with materials and construction limited to those permissible in such an environment.
Read through the Projects Space PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Projects Space CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 NCECA Podcast Session: Self-Revelation and Making Now, Kathy King, Dustin Yager, Connor Czora, and Joy Kin
2026 NCECA PODCAST PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Podcasts are recorded 60-minute engaging and thought-provoking conversations between two or three podcast panelists and one moderator. Podcast presentations focus on thematic discussions that encourage audience feedback and participation. If a moderator is not identified in the proposal, the Podcast Room Coordinator will work with accepted proposal groups to pair them with one. Recordings from the Podcast Room will be released throughout the year following the conference.
Read through the Podcast PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Podcast CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
2025 Clay Fab Lab: Skipping the Positive, Printing Molds, Chaz Martinsen
2026 NCECA MAKERS SPACE & CLAY FAB LAB PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
Makers Space - Demonstration Only
These 60-minute presentations involve one presenter giving a hands-on demonstration focused on a specific process in the maker’s repertoire of creation. Audiences for these sessions are often other makers, teachers, and learners looking for new approaches to working with form building and surface treatment to implement in their own studios and classrooms following the conference.
Clay Fab Lab - Demonstration Preferred
Presentations explore the intersection of new technologies and computer-aided design with ceramic creation. Clay Fab Lab presentations join innovative technology and tools to artistic tradition, expression, and innovation.
Read through the Makers Space & Clay Fab Lab PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Makers Space & Clay Fab Lab CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.
Raheleh Filsoofi and Reza Filsoofi, Say Their Names, Performance, Ceramic Vessel and Performance, size varied, 2023. Photo credit: Amir Aghareb
NEW - 2026 NCECA CLAY IN PERFORMANCE PROPOSALS
Deadline THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 (11:59PM EDT)
As NCECA introduces performance into its programming for the first time, this curatorial event marks a pivotal moment in the expansion of contemporary ceramic practice. Organized and curated by artist/educator Raheleh Filsoofi, this space will support the presentation of experimental, urgent, and reflective work. Engaging clay in performance is not simply an act of production, but an activation of space where material and body/ies intersect to create meaning beyond the traditional role of clay.
In response to the 2026 theme, Volumes, the launch of a performance clay initiative demonstrates how the medium provides a dynamic structure, occupies imperceptible spaces, and demands an acknowledged presence. The performance aspect offers an investigation of established hierarchies of techniques, materiality and form, expanding clay’s role from a medium of construction, to one which can be a conduit for transformative expression.
Read through the Clay in Performance PROSPECTUS prior to submitting a proposal application.
Use the Clay in Performance CHECKLIST to assemble all of the required materials before beginning your application.