🎧 Cultivating Networks Andrew Casto

Appears in the January 2024 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.

Editors: How did The Consortium for Intercollegiate Research in the Ceramic Arts (CIRCA) develop? What are its goals? 

Andrew Casto: In the fall of 2022, the University of Iowa ceramics program hosted an invitational exhibition and symposium of research university ceramics faculty and graduate students and their work. Over 150 people attended this two-day event, and the attending faculty from the represented universities made a decision to repeat this symposium at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) in the fall of 2023, and also to begin an intercollegiate ceramics organization (later dubbed CIRCA—The Consortium for Intercollegiate Research in the Ceramic Arts) focused on continuing the energy and networking generated by the initial event. The founding schools are the University of Arkansas, University of Colorado, University of Florida, University of Iowa, University of Nebraska, and Penn State University, and each school has representation on the CIRCA advisory board. At the initial symposium in Iowa City, plans for a graduate residency exchange between the participating schools following the 2023 CU Boulder symposium were also developed. 

CIRCA’s goals are dynamic, as we are an emerging organization, but following the inaugural symposium, it was recognized that CIRCA presented a new opportunity for our institutions to develop and envision a graduate experience that expands student cohorts, resource access, and networking opportunities. Part of this opportunity is to create an extended satellite graduate cohort of 36–40 graduate peers, rather than the 5–8 each school possesses alone. 

We also imagine being a supportive faculty peer and advocacy network for each other, as the concerns and dynamics of research universities are unlike other institutions of higher education where ceramics programs exist, and collectively we can identify and share strengths and opportunity areas in the various development stages of our programs. 

We also all agree that there were successes and challenges within our initial efforts, so a current goal is assessing these, and working to make this a sustainable and effective part of each of our graduate programs. 

Eds: How were graduate students selected and matched with a school/ faculty for residency? Was this program accessible to all graduates (financial support for travel, living expenses, material costs, shipping costs to send work/supplies, etc.)? 

AC: Interested graduate students were invited to submit a proposal for the residency from each participating university. The CIRCA faculty advisory board met at NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and discussed proposals and sought to accommodate as many participants as possible. Funding varied from institution to institution, and each of us worked to secure and identify internal grants for participants to cover up to $2000 for travel and lodging for the two-week residency. Materials and firing costs were provided by the hosting universities. 

Eds: Describe the experience of participating students. What is expected of them during their time at another institution? Do they primarily engage in ceramic-specific education while in residency or do they shadow other seminar, art history, or outside-ceramic studio courses? 

AC: Participants in the graduate exchange residency were given access to the vacated studios of their counterparts at hosting universities, and some covered teaching assignments where this was possible. Residents also attended critiques, had exhibitions of work, and were active participants in the ceramics cohort activities at hosting institutions. How each resident focused their two weeks was determined by their proposal and through available activities and resources such as utilizing equipment or libraries, holding studio visits, exploring the area, or focusing on precious, uninterrupted studio time in a new environment. 

Eds: Can you speak to the long-term benefits of facilitating networking among students and between universities? 

AC: Collectively we recognize a need for advocacy for the arts, and specifically ceramics at the university level. Our hope is that this organization discourages the idea that programs are siloed, and supports open and expanded dialog in ceramics graduate education between peers and colleagues. We also foresee our graduate students as active participants in a larger peer cohort as they complete their degrees and begin to navigate how they will position themselves in the field. We also want to be allies for each other and to collectively benefit and strengthen the role of ceramics programs in university art schools. 

Eds: The inaugural class of CIRCA residents completed their exchanges in the fall of 2023. What are some of the major takeaways from participating artists? 

AC: We developed a survey to assess the outcomes at each university, and some of the participants’ responses are listed below: 

“The CIRCA grad exchange program offered me an opportunity of great investment and resources. The ability to gain teaching experience outside my institution was both professionally and personally rewarding. Access to studio spaces and current University of Nebraska faculty and students gave me such a welcoming and supportive environment. I was able to work on my artistic practice, as well as develop new ceramic and teaching community-based relationships through multiple studio visits and great conversations. Having CIRCA provide this programming was very beneficial for me in my aspirations as an artist. I thank everyone for their hospitality and for giving me space to make progress on my thesis work and gain more insight into new studio spaces and states to explore, meet new people, gain teaching experience, and learn the workings of different institutions. I enjoyed being a Cornhusker for two weeks, LOL.”—Vincent Frimpong, University of Arkansas, resident at the University of Nebraska 

“I had so many major takeaways from the CIRCA exchange. It was interesting to spend time in another graduate program. Seeing different facilities, class structures, and the way graduate assistantships/teaching requirements work was valuable—partly because it satisfied my curiosity, and partly because it gave me perspective on my own program. I think we can learn a lot from other institutions in terms of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to graduate labor and program support. My greatest takeaway from the program was the community that came with it. I was completely welcomed into the University of Iowa ceramics community, graduates, undergraduates, faculty, and technicians. They not only made it possible for me to make work in a new studio, but were also genuinely interested in what I was making, how, and why. Those strong networks are so important, especially in the ceramics community. This exchange offered a platform to organically build professional relationships, and the friendships I built will provide technical, moral, and conceptual support for years to come.”—Jocelyn Reid, University of Arkansas, resident at the University of Iowa 

“The CIRCA residency, for me, was a beautiful experience and allowed for both my work and personal connections to expand. I was warmly invited into the studio and community by the University of Iowa grads. They made me feel at home and were excited to spend time together, and I am so thankful for those connections that I made. I feel like I have made lifelong friends in the field; ones that I look forward to seeing and supporting in the future! I was able to expand the techniques and material vocabulary of my work by utilizing the anagama-style wood kiln to produce a body of wood-fired work. I was also given feedback on my work that helped expand the content of it, while being introduced to a variety of others’ work through graduate classes that met in each grad’s studio for discussions about their work.”—Casey Beck, University of Nebraska, resident at the University of Iowa 

“The relationships and skills I gained throughout my CIRCA residency were by far my biggest takeaways from this experience. Throughout my stay at Penn State University, I worked closely with Professor Tom Lauerman on developing a 3D-printed modular prototype system used for pouring plaster molds. The skills learned throughout this process will allow me to lead a more sustainable and productive practice when it comes to making molds and modeling my prototypes in CAD (Computer Aided Design) software. I also had the great pleasure of working with Professor Shannon Goff. By presenting an artist talk to Shannon’s advanced ceramics class, I was able to hear new insightful feedback and dialog surrounding my work from her and her students. Most importantly . . . community! Straight off the plane, I headed directly to the Penn State ceramics studio and was welcomed with a family-style potluck attended by their entire clay community. The relationships I formed with the PSU ceramics faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates was one of the most memorable and biggest takeaways from this entire experience . . . for this I am grateful!”—Sara Alfieri, University of Nebraska, resident at Penn State University 

“For me, the main takeaway from the CIRCA residency was how valuable it is to get outside of your regular workspace and be in extended conversation with other graduate students in the ceramics field. The opportunity to work among other artists at a similar point in their career and receive their feedback throughout my process—whether that be them casually stopping into the studio while I worked or during an organized group studio visit—allowed me to get new perspectives on my work. My work grew more than I would have thought was possible in the short two weeks and I left the residency with a piece that was totally different than what I had envisioned going into the residency.”—Karina Yanes, University of Florida, resident at the University of Colorado, Boulder 

Eds: What advice would you offer to other individuals or departments interested in establishing a similar exchange program? 

AC: We are considering how we might include other universities and have also thought about offering our model as a type of repeatable structure for new groups of schools that want to pursue similar networks. Part of the feedback we’ve received has been that the intimacy of our group size has allowed authentic connections to be made between graduate students and faculty. While we are interested in limited growth, we also recognize that at some point this intimacy will be compromised. At present, we think 6–8 schools might be ideal for effectiveness, and beyond this, we may encourage interested programs to begin their own CIRCA chapters and offer mentorship and support based on what has worked for us thus far. 

the author Andrew Casto is associate professor of art and area head of ceramics at the University of Iowa. His work is represented by the Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, Florida; Florian Daguet-Bresson, Paris; and Winston Wachter Fine Art, New York and Seattle. To learn more, find him on Instagram at @andrewcasto or at www.andrewcasto.com.