A richly illustrated exploration of the work of more than thirty historical, modern, and contemporary African and African Diasporic ceramic artists
“Clay remembers from whence it came,” writes the scholar Vanessa Agard-Jones. Motivated by this insight, Clay Has Memory explores the work of more than thirty historical, modern, and contemporary artists from Africa and its diasporas who draw on and preserve intergenerational knowledge through their practices. These artists harness the potential of craft traditions and the vitality of clay to propose new relationships to place and shared histories. They demonstrate how clay, dredged from the earth and worked by human hands, holds the potential to serve as a repository of memory.
The book examines the creative practices and connections between artists who are invested in clay as a medium. It focuses on the contributions of women artists and reveals how their innovative uses of this ancient material challenge the social and institutional hierarchies that have historically undervalued their creative labor. The book also includes new research on the role of fine arts programs at HBCUs in sustaining Indigenous knowledge from Africa in the United States. A lyrical essay by the multimedia artist Adebunmi Gbadebo reflects on the role of memory and grief in her practice, while photographer John Edmonds captures relationships and lineages among the artists and artworks through a series of pictures that emphasize material and form and explore the profoundly human element of ceramic art.
Revealing how the intangible cultural heritage of craft skills and knowledge are made material reality in ceramics, Clay Has Memory is a fascinating examination of African and African Diasporic ceramic artists and their vibrant and creative work.
With additional contributions by Kwabena Ampofo-Anti, Ranti Bam, Ariel Fein, Carlee Forbes, Henone Girma, Cory Gundlach, Earl “Bing” Hooks, Erica P. Jones, Nectar Knuckles, Nicole-Ann Lobo, Nina Lovelace, Victoria McCraven, Margaret Nagawa, Bisila Noha, Magdalene A. N. Odundo, Iheanyichukwu Onwuegbucha, Mahmoud Malik Saako, Anisa Tavangar, and Jason R. Young.
Distributed for the Princeton University Art Museum
Exhibition Schedule
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey
July 18, 2026–July 3, 2027
