Our Mission and Values

Our Mission and Values

Northern Clay Center’s mission is to advance the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services. Its goals are to create and promote high-quality, relevant, and participatory ceramic arts educational experiences; cultivate and challenge ceramic arts audiences through extraordinary exhibitions and programming; support ceramic artists in the expansion of their artistic and professional skills; embrace makers from diverse cultures, experiences, and traditions in order to create a more inclusive clay community; and excel as a non-profit arts organization.

Core values

• Honesty, integrity, and respect form the cornerstone of our culture.
• The ceramic arts are intrinsic to the human experience, while reflecting diverse cultural traditions.
• Every individual benefits from exposure to a wide variety of ceramic art that is beautiful, evocative, challenging, or innovative.
• The ceramic arts are advanced through the exploration of the full spectrum of the art and science of clay.
• The field of ceramics is enriched by a mutual exchange of active curiosity, dialogue, and learning through diverse partnerships.
• Professional ceramic artists need to be nurtured, cultivated, and supported in order to both advance the greater field of the ceramic arts and enrich our local community.
• Clay learners deserve the best educational opportunities appropriate to their learning level.
• All communities deserve access to our programs and services, delivered in a genuine and welcoming environment.
• Our local, national, and international community flourishes from exposure to local, national, and international ceramic makers and their artworks.
• Fiscal responsibility and artistic risk-taking simultaneously strengthen our organization.
• The highest level of quality within our means permeates everything we do.

Goals

• Create and promote high-quality, relevant, and participatory ceramic arts educational experiences.
• Cultivate and challenge ceramic arts audiences through extraordinary exhibitions and programming.
• Support ceramic artists in the expansion of their artistic and professional skills.
• Embrace makers from diverse cultures and traditions in order to create a more inclusive and dynamic clay community.
• Excel as a non-profit ceramic arts organization.

Updates on our work