New Exhibition & Reception to Highlight Nora Eccles Harrison's Impact on Arts

LOGAN — Nora, the founder of the Nora Eccles Harrison of Museum of Art, is a relatively unknown figure in the history of ceramics of the United States, and yet her impact on the field of ceramics in the Western United States is immense.

“Unearthed: The NEHMA Ceramics Collection & The Woman Behind It” highlights 292 ceramic works of art from the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art’s collection. With over 1,400 ceramic works in total, this selection includes both recognized and under-recognized artists, women artists, influential women ceramics educators, Native American ceramicists and notable USU alumni ceramicists.

The exhibition also sheds light on Nora Eccles Harrison’s role in ceramics history as a benefactor of underrepresented artists, a benefactor to ceramics programs and this museum, a student of ceramics in the West, and the architect of an important network of makers in the American West.

The reception for this new exhibition will start at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, and is free and open to all. The exhibition curators, Katie Lee-Koven and Billie Sessions, Ph.D., will be in attendance to speak with attendees and answer questions. There will also be live music and refreshments.

“I am thrilled to share our incredible ceramics collection and highlight Nora, our museum’s founder, who made such a significant impact on ceramics in the West through the artists she collected and befriended, and through her philanthropy, founding this museum 40 years ago,” Katie Lee-Koven said. “Billie Sessions and I were thoughtful as we culled through the entire 1,400 ceramics in our collection to provide examples that show the evolution of ceramics in the 20th and 21st centuries and to ensure we show a diverse range of artists, balancing gender, ethnicity, genres and more. We hope people walk away with a better appreciation for the extraordinary range of our collection and of ceramics in this country.”

Visitors who can’t make it to the open house may see the exhibit during the museum’s regular hours:

• Tuesday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Friday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission is free. The museum offers free visitor parking in the lot behind the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall. For the Sept. 17 reception, there will also be free parking in the new four-level Gateway Terrace parking facility.

For public transportation, ride the Cache Valley Transit routes 1, 4, or the Green or Blue Loop and get off at the Fine Arts stop.

For more information, contact Lauren Boix at NEHMA at lauren.boix@usu.edu or 435-797-0227.