UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- On Friday, Jan. 23, Ibukunoluwa Ayoola, (aka IBK), master potter of Atamora Village, Osun, Nigeria, will visit Penn State School of Visual Arts (SoVA) to give a demonstration of his techniques and to promote his project with the Potters Water Action Group. IBK learned his skills from various sources and eventually attracted young people who wanted to work in the clay arts.
IBK is working with Potters Water Action Group to transform his pottery studio into a ceramic water filter production facility. Potters Water Action Group, under the direction of Richard Wukich, retired professor of ceramics, Slippery Rock University, is dedicated to the promotion, production, and education of ceramic water filters in Honduras, Haiti, Iraq, Sudan and the Dominican Republic.
Reservoir Studio, led B. Stephen Carpenter II, professor of art education in SoVA, is a member of Potters Water Action Group. An underground collective for trans-disciplinary collaboration, Reservoir Studio is comprised of artists, educators, students and interested citizens who pool intellectual and other resources for the purposes of inquiry, pedagogy and action. Reservoir Studio enacts arts-based research, education and public performances about the ceramic water filters, and curriculum projects in response to the global water crisis.
The schedule of events for Friday, Jan. 23:
-- 9 a.m.: light breakfast, Clay Studio
-- 10 a.m.: pottery/wheel throwing demonstration, Clay Studio
-- 3 p.m.: water filter workshop, Reservoir Studio
IBK’s visit is sponsored by the Potters Water Action Group, Reservoir Studio, Penn State Ceramics Club, Penn State School of Visual Arts, and the College of Arts and Architecture Multicultural Programs.