Experiential Learning Through Looking and Making: The Japanese Tea Ceremony
Hosts: Kathleen Ryor, Art History & Asian Studies; Kelly Connole, Art
Residents: Hitomi and Takuro Shibata, Studio Touya in North Carolina
Project Abstract
This project will bring Japanese ceramicists Hitomi and Takuro Shibata to Carleton College for a two-week residency in fall 2023, during which they will contribute to a pair of courses on chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony. In this dyad, 15 Carleton undergraduates will concurrently enroll in Arts of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, taught by Kathleen Ryor, the Tanaka Memorial Professor of International Understanding and Art History and Director of Asian Studies, and Ceramics: Vessels for Tea, taught by Kelly Connole, Professor of Art. By taking the courses simultaneously, students will dramatically expand their knowledge and skills about both art history and art making. The Shibatas’ residency will strengthen Asian studies at Carleton by expanding the interdisciplinary program’s range to include arts practices such as making the implements for the tea ceremony and conducting the ceremony itself. In addition, the residency will foster connections between ceramics communities in the Upper Midwest, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, and North Carolina.
