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Kaabo Clay Collective

@kaaboclay

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Membership is open to anyone identifying as a Black ceramic artist. Join us!

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Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity! Leah Sydney, a ceramic sculptor, will be in conversation with Angelique Scott for a virtual artist talk happening Sunday, October 4th, 10am Pacific, 1pm Eastern, 6pm GMT.

Leah Sydney is a ceramic sculptor from Youngstown, OH. She attended Youngstown State University, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in ceramics. Deeply inspired by African and Black American culture, she explores the physicality of her work, using three-dimensional forms to create immersive environments that evoke narratives and elicit deeper connections.

Currently, Sydney works as a ceramics educator and maintains her artistic practice by actively participating in solo and juried exhibitions. Most recently, her solo show If I Could was hosted by Westminster College at the Foster Art Gallery in January of 2026. by @kaaboclay

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2 days ago

Interested in being a part of Kaabo Clay’s very first exhibition at NCECA next year? Be sure to submit your application before the deadline Sunday, September 20th.

“Armed with Charm” explores how Black artists have transformed charm into a language of survival, self-fashioning, protection, and power. Through ceramics, the exhibition considers charm as both adornment and strategy, an act of beauty, resilience, and world-making.

Borrowing from Baltimore’s nickname, “Charm City,” the exhibition examines the layered meanings of charm within Black life and material culture.

Charm can be an object of protection, a gesture of hospitality, a performance of elegance, or a means of navigating systems not built for our flourishing.

Through ceramic vessels, sculpture, adornment, and installation, the artists in this exhibition explore how beauty, style, ritual, and presentation operate as forms of agency and cultural expression. The exhibition draws connections between Black dandyism, spiritual talismans, domestic objects, and traditions of adornment that carry histories of care, resistance, and self-definition.

Together, the selected artists will offer a meditation on how Black communities have long used creativity, grace, and style to imagine freedom and shape the worlds they deserve.

Please visit the link in bio to submit up to 2 works for consideration! by @kaaboclay

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14 days ago

Submit to our inaugural exhibition happening during NCECA 2027!

“Armed with Charm” explores how Black artists have transformed charm into a language of survival, self-fashioning, protection, and power. Through ceramics, the exhibition considers charm as both adornment and strategy an act of beauty, resilience, and world-making.

Borrowing from Baltimore’s nickname, “Charm City,” the exhibition examines the layered meanings of charm within Black life and material culture.

Charm can be an object of protection, a gesture of hospitality, a performance of elegance, or a means of navigating systems not built for our flourishing.

Through ceramic vessels, sculpture, adornment, and installation, the artists in this exhibition explore how beauty, style, ritual, and presentation operate as forms of agency and cultural expression. The exhibition draws connections between Black dandyism, spiritual talismans, domestic objects, and traditions of adornment that carry histories of care, resistance, and self-definition.

Together, the selected artists will offer a meditation on how Black communities have long used creativity, grace, and style to imagine freedom and shape the worlds they deserve.

Please visit the link in bio to submit up to 2 works for consideration!

Artwork Credit: Reggie Green by @kaaboclay

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24 days ago

Curious about how to get involved with Kaabo Clay?
Here’s how! Go to our website (link in bio) and join the collective. To be a member is completely FREE!

Join our directory, so other black ceramicists all around the world can find you and possibly even inquire about your work.
If you are already a member but feel unsure of how to get more involved, here are some ideas:
🏺Do an Instagram takeover. We love learning about what you are up to in your ceramic journey. DM us if you are interested.
🏺Create a local event for black potters in your city. If you are seeking community, I can bet you other people around you are too.
🏺Become a volunteer! We are an artist-run, community-based org. Everything we do is for us by us, and volunteers help sustain the organization. Reach out if you are interested.
🏺Host a virtual artist talk. Have you learned something new in your practice that you want to share, or have an upcoming event that you want to practice your speaking skills for? We are ready to listen, learn, and support by hosting your talk for the collective.
Photo Credit: @tys_eye

Kaabo Clay is a collective to support and resource black ceramic artists nationally and internationally. Currently, we operate mostly through donations. Consider becoming a donating member (open to all) to help us continue to do the work we do for our community. Even a monthly donation of $10 goes a long way for us. Link in bio to donate! by @kaaboclay

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We are so proud of the amazing artists who participated in our very first workshop with instructor Sam Wallace at Baltimore Clayworks. Check out the large-scale planters and vessels the artists learned to make using traditional Jamaican folk-art hand-building techniques.

If you missed this year’s event, don’t worry. We hope to have our second ceramic retreat next summer! Be sure to stay tuned for future events!

Kaabo Clay is a collective to support and resource black ceramic artists nationally and internationally. Currently, we operate mostly through donations. Consider becoming a donating member (open to all) to help us continue to do the work we do for our community. Even a monthly donation of $10 goes a long way for us. Link in bio to donate! by @kaaboclay

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a month ago

Hi Kaabo community! One of our members, Ella, owner of Village Studio & Gallery, is currently in recovery from a knee surgery that didn’t go as planned. She needs financial support to help care for her family and small business as she is still in recovery. Please visit the link in the bio to donate, and please share. by @kaaboclay

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This past weekend, Kaabo Clay Collective hosted a workshop with the amazing instructor Sam Wallace! 18 black ceramic artists from around the country were present to learn Wallace’s traditional Jamaican folk-art hand-building techniques at Baltimore Clayworks! The artists learned how to make large-scale planters and vessels while exploring the world of commercial clays.

Kaabo Clay is a collective that supports and resouces black ceramic artists nationally and internationally. Currently, we operate mostly through donations. Consider becoming a donating member (open to all) to help us continue to do the work we do for our community. Even a monthly donation of $10 goes a long way for us. Link in bio to donate! by @kaaboclay

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a month ago

Congratulations to the recipients of our Sixth Annual Kaabo Award for Black Ceramicists!

Shalom Parker @tactiletransformations was awarded $3,500 toward the establishment of a ceramics studio in New Orleans that brings together ceramic arts, art therapy, and community healing. By covering transportation and set-up costs, the grant will make it possible for her to begin offering ceramics classes and therapeutic art programs focused on serving the Black community and individuals impacted by incarceration and state violence.

Olúbùnmi Atéré @oluoninsta was awarded $1,000 toward studio infrastructure needed to expand Listening to Clay, a sculptural research series that brings people together to explore clay through African epistemologies, contemporary art, and collective making. The grant will support essential studio improvements while making it possible to host future sessions and share their outcomes through a printed risograph publication.

Kyra Simone @kreatedbykyra Kyra was awarded $1,000 in recognition of both the promise of her artistic practice and the remarkable resilience she demonstrated while completing her studies at Howard University through an extraordinarily difficult season of personal loss. This award will help her continue her creative journey by supporting the studio space and equipment needed to develop her innovative stop-motion films, which combine ceramics, animation, and storytelling.

A student of Fine and Industrial Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Igbokwe Shallon Agozirim @igbokweagozirim was awarded $500 in recognition of the exceptional promise and artistic merit of his emerging ceramics practice. This award will support his continued growth as he develops a distinctive artistic voice and builds a sustainable career in both sculptural and functional ceramics. by @kaaboclay

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2 months ago

Here's a chance to directly support a recently graduated emerging artist. @leahtstudio is selling some of her pieces to fund an upcoming residency. Get in touch with her directly by DM to inquire. by @kaaboclay

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3 months ago

Reminder: Applications for this year's Kaabo Award are due by midnight Eastern Time this Friday, June 26, 2026.

This year, we have $6,000 available to support Black ceramic artists through the Kaabo Award, made possible through proceeds from our annual pottery sale and a generous contribution from the Rosenfield Art Foundation of Texas.

The application is available on our website. Thank you to everyone who purchased pottery, donated, and supported our work. Your generosity makes these awards possible. by @kaaboclay

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3 months ago

Join us on Friday, June 12 for a special series of activities hosted by @robertolugowithoutwax and Kaabo Clay!

The evening begins with a cookout, hands-on clay experience and community check-in. Those who are interested may also attend “Wordsmith: A Def Poetry Reunion Honoring Ursula Rucker” event by Lugo at Grounds for Sculpture at 7pm. Free tickets will be provided for those who wish to attend.

Visit our website and scroll down to “Events” for more information and to RSVP. by @kaaboclay

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4 months ago

KAABO IS COMING TO BALTIMORE!

We are launching a two day workshop with Sam Wallace at Baltimore Clayworks, August 14-16th, 2026.

Come dance around your vessels with Sam Wallace in this exploration of commercial clays. Participants will gain insight into Jamaican traditional folk-art hand-building techniques employed by Sam for building his large-scale planters and vessels. Combining molded slab, soft-slab building plus “pineapple” style wad-and-dob construction students will create a variety of forms for indoor and outdoor use.

The call is open from now until the end of June. There are sixteen slots. Info on accommodations, fees, and dates can be found on our website and in our bio. Participants must be Kaabo Clay Members. Recommended for local participants due to artwork pick-up.

We hope to see you there! by @kaaboclay

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