National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts
Founded in 1966, the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) is an organisation in the United States promoting ceramics as an art form for several decades. Most major American ceramic artists since the 1970s, such as Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos, and Rudy Autio have been among its 4000 members.
NCECA began in 1961 as a committee of the the American Ceramic Society (ACerS), and became a separate organization in 1966. The organisation's annual conference, begun that year, now sees over 1000 attendees. NCECA has also changed from being almost entirely a group of teachers and professors to a more mixed membership including a large number of professional artists who are not educators. In 2004, the first full-time studio artist was selected as president of the organization.
The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts is a not-for-profit educational organization that provides valuable resources and support for individuals, schools and organizations with an abiding interest in the ceramic arts.
NCECA was founded and developed by forward-thinking ceramic artists who saw the benefits of a professional organization in its ability to create identity, definition and support for the ceramics teacher and artist, and to promote advancement of the ceramic arts. NCECA became an independent organization in 1966, after several years of affiliation with the Ceramics Education Council of the American Ceramic Society.
NCECA began as a small organization, with around 100 members. At the 2010 conference in Philadelphia, there were over 5,000 attendees. The membership is diverse and consists of students, professors, professional potters, K-12 Art Teachers, part-time potters, commercial suppliers, and more.
NCECA promotes and improves the ceramic arts through education, community-building, research and creative inspiration. NCECA offers programs, events and publications to support its membership of artists, educators, students, individual and corporate art patrons, gallery owners, museum curators and providers of ceramic arts-related products and services. As a dynamic, member-driven organization, NCECA is flexible in its program development, international in its perspective and responsive to the changing needs of its constituency.