Family Friendly

Used as a teaching tool, pottery is one of the most enduring indicators of culture. We at the American Museum of Ceramic Art are celebrating the rich and enduring history of Latinx and Indigenous pottery this  Latino Heritage Month. Bring our Mud Mobile outreach program to your school or event. Led by our teaching artists, this educational art experience allows students to interact with artwork from our Mata Ortiz and Pueblo pottery collections and create their air-dry clay projects.

In 2019, Lawson answered more than 1,000 questions in his Story File so that future generations can continue conversing with him to learn about his legacy. What would you like to ask Lawson?

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.,
Thursday, 12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Adults – $16, Seniors and Youth – $9, Members and Children under 5 – Free

The exhibition brings together artists Michael Massenburg, Aiseborn, and Mr. B Baby to explore the intersections of family,
culture, and community. Curated by Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez, PhD., the works will be on view Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., from April 13 to August 2024, with a reception/artist talk and performance by Nedra Wheeler Trio taking place Sunday, June 9 at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free.

Cover image: Helping Families Grow, by Michael Massenburg, Aiseborn, and Mr. B Baby located at Kaiser Permanente Watts Counseling and Learning Center

Mark Bradford’s 150 Portrait Tone, a mural-size composition that contains elements of both abstraction and realism, is based on an idea for a work that the artist conceived after the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a police officer in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in July 2016. Castile, a nutrition services supervisor at an elementary school, was shot after being pulled over in his car—an incident that was livestreamed on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him.

The painting features excerpts of Reynolds’s dialogue from the video. The title, 150 Portrait Tone, refers to the name and color code of the pink acrylic used throughout the painting. Like the now-obsolete “flesh” crayon in the Crayola 64 box (renamed “peach” in 1962), the color “portrait tone” carries inherent assumptions about who, exactly, is being depicted. In the context of Bradford’s painting, the title presents a sobering commentary on power and representation.

This installation showcases Bowers’ extensive permanent collection of Native American art and artifacts in stone, shell, plant fiber, basketry, and feathers. These items play a crucial role in narrating the story of Native Californian culture. While the exhibit includes groups from all areas of California, it focuses on the local groups residing in the coastal regions of Southern California.