Saint Heron builds upon its work to amplify vital voices with the launch of the inaugural Saint Heron Ceramic Artist Residency, a program that promotes the spatial sensibilities and creative innovation of Black and Brown women practicing ceramic art. The inaugural residency is supported by Kering’s Women In Motion program as a continuation of the group’s global commitment to advancing women in the fields of art and culture.
With a belief in the collaborative approach to refurbishing historical and social conditions of production, the Saint Heron Residency highlights the importance of personal and interpersonal connection within objects. Honoring the spiritual and ancestral landscape of ceramic artistry, the residency program will uplift the form and function of ceramics beyond traditional exhibition spaces, expanding and preserving connection to the African-originating ritualistic practice of making, molding, and forming permanent vessels from mud and clay.
Staged at Clayworks on Columbia (New York), the first year of the Saint Heron Ceramics Residency will take place over the month of February 2022, bringing together four artists (Saati, Mussa, Stamps, Cree) to explore their research, ideas, process and production, through safe spaces and mentorship to exercise their creative agency. Under the mentorship of masterful ceramicists and teachers Tracie Hervy and Anina Major, the Saint Heron Residency will provide in-kind studio space, materials, and a skilled team of local artisans to expand the scale of production of the selected four artisan works.
Solange Knowles, Founder, Creative & Art Director of Saint Heron on the Ceramics Residency –
“Saint Heron is driven to continue to explore and advance the work of Black and Brown women artists and artisans. We honor the work of these craftswomen by foregrounding the process of making and contextualizing the ancestral landscape of ceramic artistry beyond traditional exhibition environments. We are excited to partner with Kering who uplift vital voices in design, to push our initiative forward as a practice. Together we’ll continue to ground the intimate, ritualistic practice of ceramics through a series of workshops and the Saint Heron residency to spotlight the journey of these important objects over time.”
“At Kering, we are committed to empowering women and amplifying their talent, voices, and contributions to culture. Art is often a vehicle for social change, however, women in the arts have been historically overlooked. We have the power to write a new history through practice – one that celebrates these women and their stories. We are honored to support Saint Heron, through our Women In Motion program, on such an impactful program that not only identifies and preserves the talent of these artists, but seeks to create community beyond their craft,” said Laurent Claquin, President of Kering Americas
The month-long residency will result in commissions by each artist being showcased and sold through Saint Heron’s Small Matter gallery and boutique shop. Through 2022, Saint Heron’s Small Matter shop will explore futurism design as a form of cultural expression, with every object being a present force that encompasses light, color, movement, shape, speed, scale, and process. These works will range from large and small scale functional sculptures, architectural objects, furniture collection, lighting design, garments, and more.
To further promote the craft of ceramics, all artists of the Saint Heron programme will participate in the selection panel for Clayworks’ upcoming Artist in Residency 2022 in partnership with NYSCA. A residency created to offer BIPOC, LGTBQIA+ community, or individuals from other historically marginalized groups the opportunity to learn, create and develop their unique voice in art and to expand their knowledge and experiences in ceramics.
The Ceramics Artist Residency is the first of many exciting Saint Heron projects to come in 2022.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Tracie Hervy (Mentor | Workshop Leader – Wheel Thrower) @tracie_hervy
Tracie Hervy’s education in ceramics began in the studios of Greenwich House Pottery in NYC. She later studied at the Rhode Island School of Design where she received an MFA in ceramics. Her most recent work is inspired by the simplicity of prehistoric vessels.
Anina Major (Mentor | Workshop Leader – Hand Builder) @aninamajor
Anina Major is a visual artist whose work investigates the relationships between self and place in efforts to cultivate a sense of belonging. Her work draws from anthropological research and oral histories to challenge postcolonial ideology and advocate for critical dialogue around developing cultural identities. Major is the recipient of numerous awards and residencies, including the St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artists Award for sculpture, the Watershed Summer Residency Zenobia Award, Mass MoCA Studio Artist Program, and the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited internationally at venues in The Bahamas, the United States, and Europe.
Major studied at the College of The Bahamas before earning her BS in Graphic Design from Drexel University in 2003 and her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2017.
Armina Howada Mussa – Sculptor And Designer @outofoneskin
Armina Howada Mussa (b. 1990) is a sculptor from Maryland practicing in Baltimore. Having studied ceramics in Minato-ku, Tokyo, she works in sculpture and installation exploring ancient and storied narratives to discuss the inner and outer realms, both the active and the passive, as it relates to our existence. She interrogates these parallels using sculptures’ physical objectivity in relation to the space that holds it. Mussa’s ceramic sculptures are a contemporary take on ephemeral forms found in nature and the body – changing method with each body of work, her evolving practice is indicative of history and the infinite
Lalese Stamps – Founder Lolly Lolly Ceramics @lollylollyceramics
Lalese Stamps founded Lolly Lolly Ceramics in 2017 to focus on objects that are functional, unique and handmade to last. In September of 2019, Lalese embarked on a 100 Day Project where she made 100 mugs with 100 different handles for 100 Days, bringing national recognition to the Lolly Lolly name.
Dina Nur Satti – Designer and Maker @nurceramics
Dina Nur Satti is a Brooklyn-based ceramic artist originally from Sudan and Somalia. Holding a bachelor’s degree in International & Intercultural Studies with a focus on the cultures of Africa and the Middle East. Her pursuit of ceramics was born out of her studies in African art and pre-colonial African societies, and an interest in learning how ritual objects and spatial design elevate experiences.
Dina connected to clay as a medium not only because of a passion for design and ceramics. Ceramics is a vessel, a container through which she explores ideas of personal purpose and growth, as well as our collective transitions, cultural storytelling, and communal rituals.
Kenya Cree – Ceramicist & Painter @kenyacree
Cree’s practice reflects on moments that are felt and not seen, by creating a space of hyper-visibility to black Diaspora identity, and exploring the themes of fragile black life. These experiences aid Cree’s inspiration to create work that visualizes her perception as a black queer woman – using her identity as a vessel to communicate.
Cree’s relationship with clay is an ongoing exploration of the material’s ability to absorb and adapt. Cree applies this ideology to her art practice and how she approaches ceramics and painting.
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