Member Exclusive Preregistration
If you are an active member of the Arthur Ross Gallery, or are interested in becoming a member, please contact us at arg@pobox.upenn.edu to receive the password to register for this event early!

How can we use our hands to process the anxiety, sorrow, and frustration of living in a fractured society? Join us for an introduction and opportunity to practice kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics, in this two-hour workshop. Guided by facilitator Ann Phelps who was trained in Makoto and Haejin Fujimura's Academy Kintsugi, we will reflect on our own experiences in the presence of Makoto Fujimura's large-scale canvases and leave with our own pieces that we have mended with gold.

This workshop will take place at the Annenberg Center for the Arts in celebration of the presentation of Mako Fujimura’s Transfiguration.

*Space in the workshop is limited to just 10 individuals. To secure your place please make a reservation and arrive early. Please only register if you are able to attend. The first 10 participants with valid proof of registration will be accommodated.*

Tiles will be provided to ensure all participants can complete the workshop within the allotted time. If you are interested in bringing a particular piece for mending, please contact us at arg@pobox.upenn.edu.

About the Instructor:

Ann Phelps is the Director of Programming for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. She earned a B.A. from Hastings College and an M.A.R. from Yale University where she studied the intersection of religion, the arts, and modern culture at the Institute of Sacred Music. In her former roles as Director of the 1 Campus 1 Community Office of Community Engagement and Interim Director of Religious Life at Millsaps College, she taught courses on community engagement and vocational discernment. Most of her research has been conducted outside of the library, where she has worked as a freelance musician and teacher with colleges, universities, and religious communities to envision how corporate rituals and collective creativity can empower us to be more ethical actors in our changing world. She has recorded vocals for a number of composers and ensembles, most frequently with her communal song and jazz band, the Theodicy Jazz Collective, that has provided leadership and reflection in communities such as Yale, Cambridge, and Oxford Universities and Canterbury, St. John the Divine, and Washington National Cathedrals. Her most recent research explores how rehearsal and performance of particular virtues (and vices) in theatre might have an impact on character even after the curtain closes (Educational Theory, forthcoming). Her publications extend beyond the academic realm to award-winning visual art and the self-illustrated poem The Tower and the Well, written almost as much for children as for the adults who might read it to them.

The Art of Mending in Fractured Times: An Introduction to Kintsugi