Clay as Care

Ceramic Art and Wellbeing

Oct 9th - Dec 31st, 2025


The Clay Studio is excited to announce that we have been awarded a major grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to support Clay as Care, an exhibition that examines how care manifests in ceramic art. The grant offers project funding that will support the Clay as Care exhibition, research, publication, and symposium in 2025.

At the core of Clay as Care is the work of Adebunmi Gbadebo, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Maia Chao, and Ehren Tool, groundbreaking artists who address care, healing, rest, and resilience in their work. These artists acknowledge and access qualities of care for themselves in making their art, and therefore communicate aspects of care to their audiences. Gbadebo harvests clay from the plantation where her family was enslaved to create vessels as an act of healing for the memory of her ancestors. Datchuk creates work with images representing her journey with fertility-related medical procedures, and builds spaces for contemplation. Tool, a veteran, has made over 250,000 cups during his artistic life and says that his “process is therapeutic - and the cups are a kind of catharsis in clay.” 

In addition to the artists, co-curators Jennifer Zwilling and Nicole Pollard, along with our Community Exhibition Council, staff, members of the care movement, and scientists researching the connections between art and care, will explore how we may offer the visitor ways to engage in acts that combine clay and care within the gallery. The exhibition will push beyond traditional methods of displaying art to create new systems of engagement for visitors that include viewing, creating, and engaging in moments of rest. 

Care is at the center of The Clay Studio’s ethos since its inception in 1974; we are excited to explore this idea with our collaborators as we begin our next half century. We are deeply grateful to The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for their major support for this project. 

 

SAVE THE DATES!

Join us for our wonderful events related to the Clay As Care exhibition! 

mpm symposium 66 slideshow

Saturday, October 25th | 9am - 4pm EST

Clay as Care Symposium!

Join us to hear from our amazing partners and featured artist; supported by our wonderful guest, key-note speaker activist and author Tricia Hersey, and a panel moderated by host and executive producer of WHYY's "The Pulse" Maiken Scott.

Click here to save the date!
adebunmi 18th hole marquee

Saturday, October 25th 2025 | 5pm - 8pm EST

Clay as Care Reception

Just us for our celebratory reception of our fall major exhibition Clay as Care. Our amazing artists, and partners will be in attendance making the event extra special!

Click here to save the date!