Ceramics’ #metoo moment? #unfollowtortus + Equality Clay Day (#equalityclay) + NCECA statement on harassment
Is ceramics having its #metoo moment? Signs point to yes:
Last month a former employee accused Eric Landon, a potter in Copenhagen who goes by @tortus on Instagram, of sexual harassment and assault. As far as I can tell, the accusations and responses have taken place mostly on social media, and in particular on Instagram. The hashtag #unfollowtortus has been used to unify posts calling out and protesting the alleged harassment and assault and to call for an action, specifically for followers to unfollow the popular @tortus account. (See Instagram posts with this hashtag here: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/unfollowtortus/) The @tortus account apparently deleted and/or edited some posts (and deleted some comments), making it hard to judge his side of the story - or at least hard to judge without wondering why he would do that. This reddit thread has an overview and the discussion in the comments raises some interesting points: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pottery/comments/92z1uj/tortus_copenhagen_accused_of_sexual_assault/
These reddit threads have more discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pottery/comments/945edg/so_we_all_unfollowtortus_now_what/
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ceramics/comments/945a7f/after_unfollowtortus_creating_more_space_for/
Equality Clay Day is taking place worldwide on Saturday, August 25th. You can read more about Equality Clay Day on the organizers’ website, equalityclay.com. In their FAQ, the organizers say this is not really about #unfollowtortus: “It [#unfollowtortus] just brought these issues to light. This isn’t even just about sexual assault or harrassment. Its about leveling the ceramics community so all voices are heard, all people are respected, and the community reflects the multifaceted people that are actually potters.”
Here’s how they start the answer to the question, what is #EqualityClay?
WHAT IS #EQUALITYCLAY?
#equalityclay is a call to action.
Our intention is to promote a dialogue of inclusion and diversity in the ceramics community. The hashtag #equalityclay was created in response to growing community movements of outreach, responsibility, and accountability among ceramic makers, educators, businesses, and other organizations.
Our goal is to use our brand and social media to establish a network of people with similar social activism interests and to initiate specific dates for localized discussions of allyship. Together, we are stronger.
Read more on their website: https://equalityclay.com.
The website also includes a listing of Equality Clay Day events. There was an Equality Clay Day event scheduled to take place in Asheville, but it apparently has been canceled. There was another North Carolina event that also appears to have been canceled. It looks like the closest event currently listed is at MudFire in Decatur, Georgia. Does anyone know if there’s a closer Equality Clay Day event happening in or near Western North Carolina?
Meanwhile, NCECA just today released a “Statement on Harassment.” The statement is unsigned. It was posted by Joshua Green, Executive Director. It doesn’t mention Eric Landon or Equality Clay Day.
Here’s the beginning of the statement:
The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) is committed to creating and sustaining an environment and culture free from harassment in which all people are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.
NCECA believes that organizations serving people, the arts, teaching and learning will benefit all when they develop, implement, and share policies that address harassment in programs and the fields they serve. Initiatives like these will be most effective when they are linked to broader efforts to achieve equality, inclusion, and fairness. NCECA will be adopting a policy on harassment that will be included in all future presenter, volunteer, employment, and board service agreements.
The statement mentions that NCECA has established an email address (reports@nceca.net) to “enable members of our community to share, in confidence, reports of harassment that may occur and impact our programming and decisions as an organization.” It also states that they hope to address this issue at the NCECA conference in Minneapolis in March, 2019.
Read the full statement here: http://blog.nceca.net/statement-on-harassment
The accusations against Eric Landon aren’t the first in professional ceramics or even the first since the larger #metoo movement began last fall (see, for example, this story about accusations against Felt + Fat ceramic design studio co-founder Nate Mell from November, 2017), but it does seem that they have contributed to the ceramics profession having this #metoo moment right now. Here’s hoping this moment and movement can continue to shine light on this issue and help lead to change where needed.
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