Elena Lo Presti

A podcast about community ceramics and clay as a force for good. Clay Commons is a six-part podcast hosted by artist and educator Eva Masterman, co-produced by AiAi Studios. Each episode presents conversations with teachers, artists, activists and community leaders, all using clay as a tool to build community. Focusing on the UK and America, Clay

British cultural policy has been hindered by decades of protectionist infighting between opposing special interests (Hewison 1995). Instead we need a more balanced under- standing of the role and worth of the arts in our society – one which simultaneously embraces their aesthetic, cultural, economic and social values, and allows for the differ- ent

Participatory arts projects can also be empowering, and help people gain con- trol over their lives – sometimes, as with Acting Up’s work with severely disabled peo- ple, in a very practical sense. They can also play a vital role in the regeneration process, facilitating consultation and partnership between residents and public agencies. Arts proje

Craft is contemporary because it is progressive, because creating things by hand yourself proposes an alternative microeconomic of local making, a system of exchange more akin to bartering with its emphasis on trade and tactile connections to supply-and-demand. It is environmentally conscious and respectful of the earth's diminishing resources. Cra

Craft is contemporary because it is queer,  with its nelly yarn bombers and wild cross-stich faggotry and dykes who throw pots . Craft's queerness keys into interlocking discourses of pleasure, shame, disappointment, difficulty, exuberance, and community-building.