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Making a Difference Symposium a CraftNow Event
November 2, 2018 @ 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Free
Making a Difference Symposium | CraftNow Philadelphia | Fri Nov 2, 2018 | 11 am – 7 pm | University of the Arts Gershman Hall, 401 South Broad Street
Each year, CraftNOW hosts a symposium to provide a platform for critical discourse in contemporary craft. A half day of talks and moderated discussions is being planned surrounding the theme Making a Difference and is generously being hosted by The University of the Arts. Presentations will focus on the use of craft and making to promote positive change, social cohesion and meaningful dialogue.
Roberto Lugo will be the keynote speaker presenting Pottery Saved My Life. In Lugo’s words, his experiences as a poor, brown kid from the ghetto of Kensington Philadelphia have provided years of research from which his work as a potter, activist, culture-maker, rapper, poet, and educator. Lugo will share his journey with audiences as evidence that craft and making can ignite change and save lives.
This event is free and open to the public.
An RSVP is required to attend the networking brunch. An RSVP is also recommended for large groups. Please email [email protected] to make your reservation.
Lecture and Event Schedule
11:00 am Networking Brunch – RSVP required to [email protected]
12:00 pm Opening Remarks by CraftNOW
12:15 pm Annet Couwenberg and Timothy Veske-McMahon, Craft Education in a Digital Future
1:00 pm Merryll Saylan with Curator Glenn Adamson, This is Your Life
1:45 pm Sylvia Houghteling, Rina Banerjee, Jodi Throckmorton – Troubling High/Low Art through Craft and Folk Art
2:30 pm Coffee and Refreshments
2:45 pm Paula Winokur Tribute with Helen Drutt
3:15 pm Jennifer Zwilling with Richard Notkin, Ayumi Horie and Syd Carpenter – Activism in Clay
4:00 pm Sarah Archer and Glenn Adamson – @unthinkpink
4:45 pm Mayoral Proclamation for CraftMONTH
5:00 pm Keynote Roberto Lugo – Pottery Saved My Life
6:00 pm Closing Cocktail Reception/First Friday in Old City
Annet Couwenberg and Timothy Veske-McMahon – Craft Education in a Digital Future
With the opening of the Makers Space (Digital Lab) launching at University of the Arts in 2018, nationally acclaimed artists Annet Couwenberg and Timothy Veske-McMahon will discuss applying digital process in the studio, forecasting craft education and the difference digital technology can have on contemporary craft production.
Merryll Saylan with Curator Glenn Adamson – This is Your Life
The California-based wood sculptor and turner Merryll Saylan has long been recognized for her unusual approach to the medium. In conversation with Glenn Adamson, Saylan will reflect on her technique in contrast to prevailing trends as well as her perspective of working in a male-dominated sector of the arts.
Sylvia Houghteling, Rina Banerjee, Jodi Throckmorton – Troubling “High/Low” Art through Craft and Folk Art
Art historian Sylvia Houghteling, artist Rina Banerjee, and Curator of Contemporary Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Jodi Throckmorton, will discuss the constructed difference that art history imposes upon high/low art and craft and how folk, craft, and material culture productively trouble these categorical distinctions.
Jennifer Zwilling with Richard Notkin, Ayumi Horie and Syd Carpenter – Activism in Clay
Curator Jennifer Zwilling invites artists on view in the current exhibition Making A Difference: Social and Political Activism in Clay to discuss their approach to using ceramic arts as a platform and rallying cry for change.
Sarah Archer and Glenn Adamson – @unthinkpink
Archer and Adamson recount a cultural history of the color pink through their ongoing research shared frequently via Instagram at @unthinkpink, which includes everything from historic decorative objects to the powerful visual shorthand a pink yarn hat has made during anti-Trump protest movements.
Roberto Lugo – Pottery Saved My Life
In his words, Roberto Lugo’s experiences as a poor, brown kid from the ghetto of Kensington Philadelphia have provided years of research which inform his work as a potter, activist, culture-maker, rapper, poet, and educator. Lugo shares his journey with audiences as evidence that craft and making can ignite change and save lives.