UNM’s Arita Porcelain Studio honors process and history
Students at the Arita Porcelain Studio, located in the Art Annex at the University of New Mexico, are unique in their study of the traditional 400-year-old Japanese art of Arita porcelain; UNM is the only university in the United States with faculty authorized to instruct in this artform outside of Japan. Arita porcelain is moreso about the practice and tradition that goes into the process rather than the final product, according to Kathy Cyman, the professor of practice who leads the program.
Arita porcelain is a practice out of Arita, Japan, a town in the Saga prefecture, where Izumiyama Kaolin Quarry was founded, the first source in Japan for the raw material that goes into making porcelain clay.
The program has existed at the University of New Mexico for 43 years, thanks to Manji Inoue, a sensei in Arita porcelain who first taught Kenneth Beittel, a professor from Penn State, the art of Arita porcelain. Beittel’s student Jim Subrek, who also studied under Inoue, taught the art at UNM, where Cyman was introduced to it in 1988. This legacy denotes the tradition of Arita porcelain, which, according to Cyman, is passed down because people are called to the art.
Dr. Melissa Ryan appointed Assistant Professor of Education
The UNM Dept. of Music is excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Melissa Ryan as Assistant Professor of Music Education and the Head of the Music Education Area. Dr. Ryan had the following to say about her new position, "The UNM Department of Music is a truly...
Classic Comedy Meets Contemporary Relevance – UNM Theatre and Dance Presents Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid
The University of New Mexico’s Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to announce its upcoming production of Molière’s timeless masterpiece, The Imaginary Invalid. Directed by the Assistant Professor in Theatre Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez, this comedic gem brings to...
2024 Hulsman Undergraduate Library Research Award Winners
Congratulations to Piper Lincoln and Kaitlin Bone for winning the 2024 Hulsman Undergraduate Library Research Award in the Emerging Researcher Category! Kaitlin Bone (left image), an art major, won first place for her work, “Class Distinctions Between Moche Warriors:...