Demonstration and Tour with Catawba Potter Bill Harris

In collaboration with USC Lancaster and in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the CMA welcomes Bill Harris — Catawba potter, former Catawba Nation chief, and current artist-in-residence at the USC Lancaster Native American Studies Center — for live pottery demonstrations followed by a unique perspective tour of the CMA Collection. During the 4 o’clock hour, visitors are encouraged to engage in conversation with the artist and to ask questions as he creates pottery using the Catawba pottery method, the oldest continuous earthenware tradition in North America, dating back thousands and thousands of years. Representatives of the USC Lancaster Native American Studies Center join Harris to share information about other Indigenous artists in South Carolina and the organization’s work across the state. During the 6 o’clock hour, Harris leads a tour of the CMA Collection from his perspective as a wood craftsman and potter, beginning with one of the museum’s beloved Catawba pots, sculpted by his grandmother. Free. This program is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission.