Northern Clay Center

Northern Clay Center Northern Clay Center advances the ceramic arts for artists, learners, and the community, through education, exhibitions, and artist services.
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Opened in 1990, Northern Clay Center is now an established ceramic arts organization. Through special programs, lectures, symposia, and publications, we reach a national and international audience, as well as a direct audience of regional participants. Other programs, such as the American Pottery Festival, McKnight Residencies, and other fellowship grants, bring national artists to the region to continually feed a lively exchange of ideas and aesthetics.

Meet Shiyuan Xu, a 2025 Recipient of the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists!Shiyuan Xu was born in Hangzhou, P.R Chi...
05/29/2026

Meet Shiyuan Xu, a 2025 Recipient of the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists!

Shiyuan Xu was born in Hangzhou, P.R China, and currently lives in Chico, California, US, where she is an assistant professor at California State University, Chico. Shiyuan received her BA in Ceramics from China Academy of Art (China) and an MFA from Arizona State University (US). Shiyuan is the recipient of 2021 NCECA Emerging Artist and 2017 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist. She has been awarded several prestigious Artist-in-Residency programs across the US, such as the Archie Bray Foundation, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawrence Arts Center and Lillstreet Art Center. Shiyuan has exhibited nationally and internationally, and her work has added to permanent public collections in the US such as Federal Reserve Board Fine Arts Collection, Archie Bray Foundation, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and internationally, such as Korea Ceramic Foundation, the National Museum of Slovenia, Jingdezhen Ceramics University and Victoria and Albert Museum.

Meet Simphiwe Mbunyuza, a 2025 Recipient of the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists!Mbunyuza, (born 1989), is a South...
05/28/2026

Meet Simphiwe Mbunyuza, a 2025 Recipient of the McKnight Residency for Ceramic Artists!

Mbunyuza, (born 1989), is a South African artist and ceramic sculptor based in Johannesburg. His large-scale abstract ceramic work draws inspiration from his Xhosa cultural background and African cultural symbolism. His physical and craft- based approach to ceramics, allows the hand of the maker to be ever-present in each piece. He maps personally constructed symbols onto his generally very complex, and often very emotive work that embodies narratives of the African culture of Bantu speaking people.

Mbunyuza holds a Masters of Fine Art from The University of Oklahoma and a Fine Art degree from Walter Sisulu University. He has been the subject of numerous exhibitions around the world, including recent solo & group presentations by Solomon Mindy, South Willard & Gordon Robichaux Gallery, Gordon Gallery, African Studies Gallery, Marianne Boesky (Aspen, CO), and Gallery 1957 in London and Accra, Ghana, among others. He is the recipient of awards and residencies including Africa First (Shenkar Academy & Bezalel University); Anderson Ranch Arts Center in 2021; the Red Clay Faction Award and Oscar Jacobson Award from The University of Oklahoma in 2019; John Steele Award for Excellence in Ceramics from The Walter Sisulu University; a residency with Anderson Ranch; A.I.R Vallauris, France, in 2017 and recently completed a 2-year residency at the world-renowned Archie Bray Foundation in Montana, USA.

It’s your last chance to shop American Pottery Festival (APF) work until the event opens on August 28! Click the link in...
05/27/2026

It’s your last chance to shop American Pottery Festival (APF) work until the event opens on August 28! Click the link in our bio to grab some beautiful work before the preview closes.

It’s the last week to come check out our current exhibitions, Members Exhibition and K-12 Educators and Students. Both e...
05/26/2026

It’s the last week to come check out our current exhibitions, Members Exhibition and K-12 Educators and Students. Both exhibitions will close on Sunday, May 31 at the end of the day. Celebrate the amazing work our community creates by visiting the exhibitions before they close!

05/21/2026

It takes a lot of hard work to put together the incredible images we share for American Pottery Festival! Our team put together some beautiful shots using elements from nature to highlight the colors, textures, and patterns in the pottery our 2026 APF artists created.

The APF Preview is open for shopping through the end of the month, but get your orders in now! After May 31, you won’t be able to purchase work from our APF artists until the event opens on August 28th. Click the link in our bio to shop now!

05/20/2026

Did you know that becoming an NCC member comes with tons of great benefits? In addition to supporting the ceramic arts, all members receive 10% off when shopping in the Sales Gallery, a 5% discount on most classes and workshops, invitations to special events and pre-sales, access to the NCC Library, and more! Click the link in our bio to become a member today!

Apply to be NCC’s Weekend Sales Gallery Assistant! This position is for 8 hours per week on average, on Saturdays and Su...
05/19/2026

Apply to be NCC’s Weekend Sales Gallery Assistant! This position is for 8 hours per week on average, on Saturdays and Sundays. Applications are due to Rachel Nusbaum by Sunday, May 31. Click the link in our bio to apply now!

The Sales Gallery Assistant is an essential member of the Gallery team, supporting both the success of the program and the experience of visitors to NCC. This is a support-focused position ideal for someone who is detail-oriented, observant, and eager to contribute to a collaborative team. They support the Gallery Team with customer service and sales support, inventory management, and artist communications.

While day-to-day tasks will be outlined by the Gallery Team, the ideal candidate will be a self-starter who takes initiative, follows tasks through to completion, and communicates proactively about progress, challenges, or unfinished work.

Just a sample of the incredible work our students create in their classes! These pieces are from spring term, which is j...
05/18/2026

Just a sample of the incredible work our students create in their classes! These pieces are from spring term, which is just about to come to a close. Want to get your hands dirty in some clay this summer? Sign up for a summer class or workshop! Click the link in our bio to sign up now.

Thank you to everyone that attended the public reception for our newest exhibitions, Members Exhibition and K-12 Educato...
05/16/2026

Thank you to everyone that attended the public reception for our newest exhibitions, Members Exhibition and K-12 Educators and Students! We are so happy to celebrate the artists represented in this show, from elementary school students to full-time professional artists (and everything in between!).

If you weren’t able to attend tonight, the show will be up through May 31. Come during normal gallery hours (10 am - 5 pm, Tuesday - Sunday, open late on Thursdays until 7 pm) to check out the show!

Miss the St. Croix Pottery Tour? Still want to get some shopping done? We have new work from many guests of the tour, in...
05/14/2026

Miss the St. Croix Pottery Tour? Still want to get some shopping done? We have new work from many guests of the tour, including the work pictured here! Come shop in store or online for some beautiful pottery.

Address

2424 E Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
55406

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16123398007

Website

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