The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts is in Kansas City through Saturday
Blvd Tavern’s private dining room gets special treatment this weekend. There will be no large parties or celebrations — at least not until all the pedestals and delicate ceramic pieces have been cleared from the room.
On Wednesday, the 50th Anniversary Conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) kicked off in Kansas City, introducing a multi-day takeover of local galleries — and a few non-galleries — with installations from ceramic artists around the country. At Blvd Tavern, Cane College of the Arts at Utah State University has taken up residence.
“The artists in this exhibit are alumni from the University from the last 30 years,” undergraduate ceramic artist Joseph Pesina says. “We’re showcasing a cross-section of ceramic works. It’s a wide range of vessel and sculpture, some made by prominent ceramic artists and some from artists who are just starting their careers.”
More than 50 artists are represented at this exhibition, including some high-profile names in the ceramics world, such as Brad Schwieger, Jason Hess and Trevor Dunn.
“The theme of this year’s conference is Makers, Mentors and Milestones,” Utah State University graduate student Tom Alward says. “There’s many different levels of mentors, and this exhibit functions like a lineage of people learning from each other, who have spring-boarded this big network of people that have gone through the university.”
The exhibit will be at Blvd Tavern through the end of the conference on Saturday, March 19. The reception for Vision and Persistence: 30 Years of Ceramic Excellence at Utah State University will be held tonight at Blvd Tavern from 6 to 10 p.m.
“Since we are in the Crossroads Arts District, I feel that supporting the arts is an important part of what we do down here,” says Blvd Tavern’s co-owner and FOH manager, Meghan Nacey. “We hope this increases foot traffic back there, and we’re looking forward to being a larger part of the First Friday experience in the future. It’s kind of nice to have a museum in the back room!”
NCECA has planned for shuttle buses to take passengers to all Kansas City exhibitions throughout the conference. Other exhibition locations include Blue Bird Bistro, the American Jazz Museum, Fine Folk, Webster House, the Drug Store and more. For the full list of exhibitions, go here. For more on NCECA’s 50th Anniversary Conference, go here.
Blvd Tavern is located at 320 Southwest Boulevard. The Vision and Persistence: 30 Years of Ceramic Excellence at Utah State University exhibition is free and open to the public during Blvd Tavern’s business hours.
