OTIS, OR – This summer, Sitka Center is offering a series of free events featuring invited speakers on issues of culture and community. The August Mingle and Muse will be on Monday, August 20th, with a presentation by artist Maya Vivas of Portland, OR on the topic, Set in Stone: the intersections of clay and personal narrative in our quest to be seen, heard and remembered.
Maya Vivas is a ceramic sculptor, performance artist and activist. Their ceramic sculptures have been featured in an array of galleries throughout Portland, Los Angeles and New Zealand, including venues in association with The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. In addition to serving on the board of the Contemporary Art Council at the Portland Art Museum, Vivas is the Co-Owner of Ori Gallery. Whose mission is to redefine “the white cube” through amplifying the voices of Queer and Trans Artists of color, community organizing and mobilization through the arts.
Maya explains the presentation topic:
“From cave paintings to graffiti, humans have always had the desire to make their mark on the world. As social creatures it is within our nature to share our ideas and narratives, for when our physical bodies no longer exist, what else is left? Enter ceramics, one of the oldest human inventions dating back to as early as 24,000 BC. The earliest usage of fired ceramics was not for transportation of food or water, but for the creation of figurines: both human and animal. I feel that this speaks volumes about the human condition. I am fascinated by the thought that so much and so little has changed. We were seeking to understand ourselves and the world through art just as fervently as we do today. We were making art before the concept of art existed. And it is though the longevity of ceramics we are able to touch the very same materials that our ancestors touched. We can create the figurines of our present cultures, ideas and narratives for the future. It is within this context that I find myself thinking about what will become of my own sculptures long after I cease to exist. The works that I give away to my friends and family, will they continue on to be passed down. Will I be remembered as the creator?”
Mingling starts at 4:30 pm, presentation starts at 5pm in the Boyden Studio and Maveety Courtyard, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, 56605 Sitka Drive, Otis OR 97368.
This Mingle and Muse is made possible in part by sponsor Siltstone Wines and a grant from Oregon Humanities (OH), a statewide nonprofit organization and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds the OH’s grant program.
Committed to expanding the relationships between art, nature and humanity, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology is renowned for its workshop and residency programs. Exploration of the coastal environment has remained a key component to the Sitka Center’s vitality. Located at Cascade Head, with views of the Pacific Ocean, the Sitka Center offers a place where artists, writers, environmental scientists and musicians of all abilities and backgrounds come to nourish and inspire their creativity, which ripples out into our world making it a brighter place for all. For more details visit www.sitkacenter.org.
