Crafting Identities: Sharing Stories With Clay

This panel discussion explores how ceramic artists use clay to express heritage and culture. Bisila Noah, a Spanish-Equatoguinean artist, and Kochevet Bendavid, a ceramicist from Israel, will be joined by ceramicist Rich Miller, to explore how clay can connect people with their homeland and ancestry. Together, these artists demonstrate how clay serves as a medium for storytelling, heritage preservation, and connecting with one’s identity. This panel invites attendees to engage with diverse stories and issues in ceramic art, both historically and in contemporary practice, fostering a deeper understanding of clay’s role in cultural identity.

Rich Miller
Richard Miller has spent the last 12 years running Froyle Tiles, specialising in bespoke stoneware tiles. He has collaborated with renowned artists, including Kate Malone, and a collaboration with Jamie Fobert Architects on the new Pavilion at the Tate St Ives, whilst pursuing his own studio practice, exhibiting ceramics at select shows. Miller is also known for his expertise as a ceramics technician on BBC 2’s ‘The Great Pottery Throwdown’.

Bisila Noah
Bisila Noha is a Spanish-Equatoguinean London-based ceramic artist, researcher and writer. With her work she aims to challenge Western views on art and craft; to question what we understand as productive and worthy in capitalist societies; and to reflect upon the idea of home and oneness pulling from personal experiences in different pottery communities. Her ceramics practice extends from wheel-thrown pieces to sculptural pieces mixing throwing, coiling and carving which connect her to her roots, the makers that precede her and our past.

Kochevet Bendavid
Born in Israel, Kochevet Bendavid moved to England in 1981 after completing her BA in English Literature and History of Art at Hebrew University. Graduating from Harrow College’s ceramics course, she built a successful career supplying distinctive porcelain ware. After earning her MA in ceramics from the Royal College of Art in 2004, she shifted to explore expressive pieces, focusing on clay’s capacity to explore identity and belonging. In 2017, she launched the ‘Home from Home’ project, exploring how international ceramic artists in Britain navigate their connection to their adopted home.