CraftED (part 1) – an artist talk featuring Aaron Nelson
Thursday, January 29, 2015 7 pm
ARTlab room 366
180 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba
In celebration of Craft Year 2015, the Manitoba Craft Council will be presenting a series of CraftED lectures, workshops and more with some of Canada’s most exciting and engaged craft practitioners. Join us for this launch event featuring Aaron Nelson, artistic director of Medalta. With a presentation style that is insightful and inspiring, warm and witty, let Aaron launch you into Craft Year 2015 laughing and looking forward to what comes next.
In this talk, Aaron Nelson will explore the idea of craft and its extraordinary relevance in our current culture. Focussing less on the object amd more on the process, he will outline some strategies contemporary makers can use to access new audiences and connect with diverse networks. Using examples form his own artistic practice, he will explore the theme of Why Making Matters. He will further explore this theme through the lens of Medalta, examining how it has transformed from a derilect factory on the edge of a mid-size Canadian city, to a vital cultural organization that connects with local, regional, and national audiences.
Artist bio: Aaron Nelson is the Artistic Director at Medalta, Iocated in the Historic Clay District in Medicine Hat, Alberta. This position has allowed him to develop relationships with a regional, national and international community of makers, and thus contextualize the diversity of contemporary approaches to ceramic practice. In addition to his work as an arts administrator, writer, speaker, and educator, Aaron also maintains an active studio practice. He has been awarded grants from both the Canada Council for the Arts and The Alberta Foundation for The Arts to support his current investigations into the intersection of digital technologies and traditional craft practice. Most recently he was invited to The Critical Making Lab, part of the Semaphore Research Cluster at the University of Toronto, to further this research.
Workshop and Studio visits with Aaron Nelson
Visiting artist Aaron Nelson will be offering a workshop on Friday, January 30, 9 am-4 pm at the U of M, organized by the Ceramic’s Club. Some studio visit opportunities may also be available on Saturday, January 31, morning and early afternoon. Watch your email for more info on these opportunities as it becomes available.
