NCECA 2026 Annual Exhibition: ABSENCE TAKES FORM

NCECA 2026 Annual Exhibition: ABSENCE TAKES FORM, curated by Adrienne Spinozzi, is open to ceramic artists internationally. The exhibition will run January 31 - April 11, 2026, and will be hosted concurrently with VOLUMES, the 60th annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts in Detroit, Michigan, March 25-28, 2026. The exhibition will be held at Wasserman Projects, 3434 Russell Street, #502, Detroit, MI 48207.

Absence Takes Form explores how artists express their individual diasporic journeys in clay, taking inspiration from Detroit's rich history shaped by the Great Migration. The exhibition features invited artists Adebunmi Gbadebo, Anina Major, David R. MacDonald, and Yeesookyung, alongside selected works from open submissions. Artists are invited to engage in processing their memory of an ancestral homeland through creation, expressing reparative work through acknowledging ancestral memories, embracing visual signifiers of identity, honoring cultural techniques and traditions, and engaging in conceptual practices that reconstruct the past.

Eligibility: Open to ceramic artists 18 years or older who are not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program. NCECA membership is not required; however, members receive complimentary entry. Non-member entry fee: $50.00. Artists may submit up to three artworks with a maximum of six media files total (1-6 images, 0-3 audio files, 0-3 video files, with a maximum of two media files per artwork). Mixed-media pieces are acceptable only when clay and ceramic expressions are predominant. Video submissions should be links to YouTube, Vimeo, or similar platforms, no longer than two minutes per video. All pieces must fit through venue entryways and be safely installed. Floor and pedestal work must be self-supporting. Unfinished work, sketches, illustrations, models, and maquettes will not be accepted. Works previously exhibited in NCECA Cornerstone exhibitions are not eligible. Entry deadline: June 18, 2025, 11:59 p.m. MDT. For questions about eligibility or submission guidelines, contact [email protected].