the plains art museum

The Practice is the Point

Stoneware, Earthenware, Porcelain

2023

6 m x 6 m x 0.75m

Steve Hilton and 120 other artists from around the world

As I see it, "The Practice is the Point" was a ceramics-focused exhibition celebrating the incredible potential and versatility of our medium. With the exhibition exploring how this group of incredible artists (Eddie Dominguez, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Ayumi Horie, Amber Ginsburg, Meg Roberts, Brett Kern, Julia Galloway, Paul Wong, and Cannupa Hanska) and myself approach our professional practices, and our influence on community development and cultural enrichment.  This exhibition showcases a wide range of ceramic artworks while sharing the stories of the artists and the communities in which we live. 

Our piece, entitled Empty Bowl, explored the broader implications of artistic practices on community and culture, with a specific emphasis on the ceramic bowl as a way to affect change regarding food insecurity. My hope is it will highlight how the clay community around the country, and possibly the world, has an unwavering dedication to their craft and their community while facilitating change, whether it be locally or globally. (I say our because over 120 artists contributed)

I invited artists from diverse backgrounds around the world to submit between 1 and 20 ceramic bowls for the exhibition with the goal of gathering a collection of over 1,000 cereal sized bowls, representing a broad spectrum of styles, techniques, and artistic visions.  All with the goal of feeding people.  While some bowls were “simple” well-crafted bowl forms, others were mixed media sculptural forms.  The piece was installed by myself and my students in the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND.

Most importantly, eventually all bowls will be donated to an Empty Bowl Event wherever bowls might be needed to start a bowl event. 

If you are interested in starting an Empty Bowl event, please let me know!!