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HERENCIA MEANS HERITAGE

HERENCIA MEANS HERITAGE IS A DIGITAL ARCHIVE THAT SEEKS TO HELP GIVE REPRESENTATION TO MARGINALIZED AND INVISIVILIZED ARTISAN COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS INCIPIENT CRAFT PROPOSALS.
MISSION
HERENCIA MEANS HERITAGE AIMS TO CELEBRATE AND PRESERVE THE RICH TRADITION OF TRADITIONAL HANDCRAFTED POTTERY THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH AND THE PRACTICE OF CERAMICS. THIS PROJECT STRIVES TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED AND MARGINALIZED ARTISANS BY CREATING A DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT SHOWCASES THEIR ARTISTRY, FOSTERS CULTURAL DIALOGUE, AND PROMOTES THE DIVERSITY THAT DEFINES MEXICAN SOCIETY.
VISION

HERENCIA MEANS HERITAGE ENVISIONS A WORLD WHERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MARGINALIZED AND OVERLOOKED ARTISAN COMMUNITIES ARE RECOGNIZED AND VALUED. BY LEVERAGING COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH, THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO BUILD A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF TALAVERA POTTERY. OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO CREATE A GLOBAL PLATFORM THAT BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN ARTISANS AND AUDIENCES, ENSURING THAT THE VIBRANT HERITAGE OF TRADITIONAL POTTERY IS CELEBRATED AND SUSTAINED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
 
OBJECTIVES
VISIBILIZE AND PROMOTE THE WORK OF MARGINALIZED ARTISANS AND EMERGING CERAMISTS, CONNECTING HISTORICAL MEMORY WITH CONTEMPORARY TRADITION AND CULTURAL FUTURE.
PROMOTE ACCESS TO CERAMIC KNOWLEDGE BY TRAINING ARTISANS THROUGH FREE WORKSHOPS IN MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CREATION OF ARTISTIC COMMUNITIES BY CONNECTING TRADITIONAL ARTISANS WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH YOUNG CREATORS.
FOSTER THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF ARTISANAL WORK BY CONNECTING TRADITIONAL CERAMISTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONTEMPORARY ART FIELD.
 
WHAT WE ARE DOING
 THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS INITIATIVE LIES IN CREATING A PLATFORM WITH INTERNATIONAL POTENTIAL THAT GENERATES SOCIAL IMPACT. IT DISCUSSES THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF ARTISANS IN KEEPING THE CRAFT TRADITION ALIVE, BEYOND BEING MERE REPRODUCTION TOOLS. FURTHERMORE, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGED RESEARCH (CER), THIS EXPERIENCE SUGGESTS THAT UNIVERSITY TEACHING OF CERAMIC ARTS CAN OPEN NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO SHOWCASE THE WORK OF THESE PROFESSIONALS AND PROMOTE THE RICH CERAMIC TRADITION INTERNATIONALLY.SINCE THE SUMMER OF 2023, WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE STANLEY AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, HERENCIA MEANS HERITAGE HAS FOCUSED ON ANALYZING AND CELEBRATING TRADITIONAL AND EMERGING CERAMIC TECHNIQUES. BUILDING ON CER, WE SEEK TO BUILD A DIALOGUE WITH MEXICAN ARTISANS TO REFLECT ON CREATIVITY FROM OUR DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AS CREATORS.USING STORYTELLING THROUGH CERAMICS, OUR WORKSHOPS PROVIDE ARTISANS WITH TOOLS TO TRANSLATE THEIR STORIES FROM STATEMENT TO IMAGE. IN THE FIRST EDITION, WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE THE WORK OF FOUR ARTISANS RECOGNIZED IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA AND BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON EDUCATION FOR THE CERAMIC ARTS (NCECA). THANKS TO ITS CERAMICS DEPARTMENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TALAVERA POBLANA POTTERY SYMPOSIUM WAS ORGANIZED, TO BE HELD IN THE FALL OF 2024 AT THE SCHOOL OF ART AND ART HISTORY AND THE STANLEY MUSEUM. TWO OF THESE ARTISANS WERE INVITED ALL EXPENSES PAID, DEMONSTRATING THE VALUE OF THIS PROJECT.