Citizen of Craft 2023 Awardee Carol E. Mayer has been a supporter and advocate for ceramics for over 35 years, since starting research at the Koerner Gallery of Ceramics. While not a potter herself, she has worked closely with BC potters to understand the technical virtuosity of ceramics, developing a real love and respect for BC ceramics – including their cultural, community and individual value.

With vast experience in ceramics curation, research, as well as ceramics publication, Carol has been a non-stop and much-needed supporter of the craft – and is therefore this year’s Citizen of Craft.

Carol has published widely about ceramics, including A Discerning Eye: The Walter C Koerner Collection of European Ceramics, Don Hutchinson: The Artful Potter, Transitions of a Still Life and The Space In Between: The Contemporary Works of Sally Michener and Tam Irving: Pleaed to Meet You- Introductions by Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott: Playing with Fire – Ceramics of the Extraordinary. As a Curator of Ethnology and Ceramics at the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, Carol Mayer wrote The Potter’s Art (UBC Press, 1997) and Made of Clay: Ceramics of British Columbia (D&M, 1998). In tribute to the opening of the Museum of Anthropology’s redesign in 2010, Carol co-authored The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia with Anthony Shelton. 

She is the founding president of the Northwest Ceramics Foundation that advocates for the dissemination of knowledge about ceramics through education, exhibitions, programming and publication. She founded the NWCeramics Award of Excellence and currently chairs the awards committee.

She is vice-president of the Pacific Arts Association (North America) and a board member of the Pacific Peoples Partnership (the only Canadian NGO working in the Pacific.)  She has received fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and the Sainsbury Research Unit, and has been granted numerous awards, including from the Canadian Museums Association (where she is an appointed Fellow), the International Council of Museums, the BC Museums Association, and life membership in the Potters Guild of BC. She has also received the President’s Medal of Excellence at UBC, the Independence Medal from the Republic of Vanuatu for her cultural contributions, and the Pacific Arts Association. Manu Dala (Frigate Bird) Award for outstanding achievements in the study of the arts of the Pacific.

Citizen of Craft 2022 Awardee Amy Gogarty is a highly regarded writer, moderator, speaker, and curator, who is known nationally and internationally. While maintaining an active art practice, she is a dedicated volunteer who contributes to the craft community in British Columbia.    

During her career in Canada, Amy has been a tireless, informed author, raising the intellectual conversation around the ceramic arts.

During her career in Canada, Amy has been a tireless, informed author, raising the intellectual conversation around the ceramic arts. Amy was editor (with Ruth Chambers and Mireille Perron) of Utopic Impulses: Contemporary Ceramics Practice, a contemporary anthology of socially responsible ceramics practice, and, along with Nisse Gustafson, of the third volume of Paula Gustafson’s important series, Craft Perception and Practice. She has consulted for many other publications, conferences and exhibitions. Applying intellectual rigour is an essential activity; raising awareness around the endeavours and accomplishments of craft artists. Writing, intellectual discourse, and historic knowledge all elevate the perception and status of craft, educating curators, galleries and museums still unfamiliar with craft practices. As a reflection of the respect with which Amy is held, through-out North America and abroad, in 2021 she was named an Honorary Member for NCECA, an American ceramics organization that captures global attention.  

Citizen of Craft 2021 Awardee Morley Faber is a rare bird indeed: a landlord who has a heart. In a city with astronomical real estate values and with a dearth of affordable studio spaces, he owns and manages Mergatroid Studios in East Vancouver with an emphasis on affordability, safety and community. The hallways are clean and uncluttered, the electrical up to code, the sprinkler system maintained. But over and above the basics, Morley has paid attention to many details that make the studios and building function well for each individual.

There is a loading bay and conveyor belt for large and heavy work. He has purchased lights with stands for tenants to borrow should they want to photograph their work. He has provided two scales tenants may use to calculate shipping costs. There are bike racks with a roof to keep bikes out of the rain. He has installed a small
patio with bamboo and other plantings for lunch outdoors. During non-Covid times, he orchestrates community events. All these details combine to make Mergatroid a pleasant and productive place to work.

Citizen of Craft 2020 Awardee Allen Collier is a collector, researcher, maker and curator specializing in Canadian craft and design (1940-1980). Over the last 35 years, he has curated, contributed essays and lent objects from his collection to numerous exhibitions on modern craft and design in museums and galleries across the country. Designing and making furniture since 1978, he has often been influenced directly by modernist designers whose work he has collected and exhibited, thereby supporting the notion that the past informs the present. 

Citizen of Craft 2020 Awardees Celia and Keith Rice-Jones 

Celia Rice-Jones had initial Art School training in England with Arthur Griffiths and David Leach, within the Leach, Cardew, Davis traditions. She is primarily interested in vessels for everyday use and tries to retain evidence of the clay’s plasticity throughout the process, including the use of slips and always wanting to go beyond the thrown form. Time away from the wheel allows for explorations into more figurative work both modeling and working with slabs.

Keith Rice-Jones trained as a woodwork teacher in England, where he was influenced by the Arts and Crafts tradition, the Bauhaus and modernist ideas. He discovered clay in the early 1970s and continues to maintain an active studio practice. He has exhibited in Australia, Japan, and Canada, including a major retrospective at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in 2013.

In 2018, Celia and Keith Rice-Jones, were nominated successfully by the NWCF for the Hilda Gerson Award, a prize initiated by the Craft Council of BC and awarded biannually to a craftsperson who has demonstrated excellence, innovation and leadership in the BC craft community.

Citizen of Craft 2020 Awardee Barbara Duncan 

Barbara Duncan’s most recent full-time professional position was Curator, The ACT Art Gallery, Maple Ridge where, during the ten years of her tenure (2010-2020), she sought to instill in the visiting public a greater appreciation for fine craft across a wide range of mediums. During this time, with the support of a part-time assistant and an outstanding crew of volunteers, she also oversaw the operation of a gallery shop where home goods and craft objects of quality standards were made available for sale in support of the gallery and the contributing artists.

Barbara holds a BA in Communications (SFU) and a Master of Arts (The City University, London, England). The latter accreditation, which included a written thesis on the history of the training of artists in the UK, was obtained during a fruitful nine years in London, England. At this time Barbara’s career focus quickly shifted from broadcasting to the visual arts when a brief assignment at the acclaimed Slade School of Fine Arts evolved into a five-year appointment working in an administrative capacity with the student artists and their tutors. After obtaining her Masters degree, Barbara moved on to the Tate Gallery, Millbank (since renamed Tate Britain) where she held the position of Deputy Director’s Assistant for three years.