MenLo is a studio and gallery focused on growing the international artist community in Jingdezhen, providing access to the city for aspiring ceramic artists, and amplifying young and emerging Chinese contemporary artists in any medium. As a studio we are committed to working in an integrated way with the city, its artisans, and its industry. As a gallery we do not have representational relationships with artists, we facilitate making, and try to find the work done in our studio homes in various galleries, museums, and other venues around China.
Summer Intensive Workshops 2024
This coming year we will be hosting our 5th and 6th ceramic summer session. In each session we explore Jingdezhen and its unique ceramic possibilities making stops at museums, factories, artisan workshops, artist studios, markets, exhibitions, and amazing scenic spots all around the city and the surrounding countryside, all while making work under the guidance and with the inspiration of a professional workshop leader from the field of international ceramics. We also bring local masters of traditional skills like blue & white painting and dry clay carving to teach one-day lessons. In addition, we do our best to help our participants to mix with the culture of Jingdezhen, and show off the fact that Jingdezhen is both a sneaky-good food city, and possibly the youngest and hippest art capital to be found anywhere. Housing, studio materials, studio space, entrance fees, assistance, and transportation within Jingdezhen are all included in our session fee of 14,000 RMB. Registration is open now, to sign up or get more information email us at MenLoJDZ@gmail.com
Summer Session 1: June 16 – July 6 2024
Join artist Artist Natalia Arbelaez in a three-week workshop exploring China Jingdezhen and all its ceramic history, technology, and craft together. This residency will focus on mentorship, conceptual theory, and professional development. We will discuss ideas of cultural influences and research and how we use these in our practice. Sculptural making will also be a focal point in the classroom, From gestural loose making to the more modeled form. We will go from the sketch to the physical and all sculptural techniques that best execute an idea.
Natalia Arbelaez is a Colombian American artist with a B.F.A. from Florida International University and an M.F.A. from The Ohio State University. In 2016-2017 she was a Rittenberg Fellow at Clay Art Center; Port Chester, New York and was awarded the Inaugural Artaxis Fellowship that funded a residency to Watershed in Newcastle, ME. Her work has been exhibited internationally, in museums, galleries, and included in various collections, such as the Everson Museum and MAD Museum. She has been recognized by NCECA as a 2018 Emerging Artist and was a 2018-19 resident artist at the Ceramics Program at Harvard University. Natalia was an artist in residence at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City and a Resident Artist at AMOCA in Pomona, CA.
Summer Session 2: July 26 – August 15 2024
Alex Simpson is a British/Austrian artist working in London with an MA in Ceramics and Glass from the Royal College of Art and a BA in Illustration from the University of Brighton. She is an educator at the London Sculpture Workshop and City Lit and a non-executive director of Gaada, a visual arts workshop in Shetland. She has exhibited her work extensively in the U.K. and abroad including exhibitions at Christies, Unit 1 Gallery, Sluice Gallery, Thames Side Studios Gallery, The Horse Hospital. She has twice been included in the British Ceramics Biennale with a shortlist award in 2017. In 2020 she was selected for a residency and exhibition at Taattisten Tila Finland.
How To Jingdezhen: Residency Sessions for Professionals April 1 - May 31 & Oct 1 - Nov 16 2024
For professional artists and designers with a plan. Fully assisted residencies are available for up to 3 artists looking to expand their pratice through a specific project or goal in Jingdezhen. Contact us @ MenLoJDZ@gmail.com for more information or send a bit about yourself and your goal + Links/Attatchments of representative work to begin the application process. These sessions are aimed at professionals looking to accomplish a specific goal in Jingdezhen, be it production sourcing, prototyping, completion of a sculptural project, and any other concrete aspiration. Unlike our summer sessions there is no schedule to this session, and the focus is much narrower for each individual participant. Participants can choose their own dates within each session with a minimum of three weeks (exceptions can be made based on goals that would require less time) and will be given housing, studio space, and assistance for a session fee of 2900 RMB per week.
Independantly Organised Residency Opportunities
The MenLo Studio is used as a single, or small group residency space for artists we feel fit one of the two gallery missions. The studio is private, equipped for ceramic production, painting, and general working on things. We are located in Chang Hong Neighborhood, next to the popular Sculpture Factory district. Residnecies include assistance in all phases from planing to execution and guidance around Jingdezhen.
To apply email us information about the following at MenLoJDZ@Gmail.com
1. About your practice
2. What you hope to accomplish in jingdezhen
3. For how long, and when you’d like to be in the studio and in the country
4. The country of your citizenship, and your visa status in China
5. Your financial expectations and constraints
Residents are provided studio space, tools, and limited materials. The standard residency fee is 300 RMB per day. Applications are open to artists in any medium.
We also offer studio rental for artists who can operate in Jingdezhen without assistance, email us @ MenLoJDZ@gmail.com for more information.
For an idea of the cost of living and available services as well as some practical information about Jingdezhen for interested applicants.
Contact us @ MenLoJDZ@Gmail.com or follow us @ps_jingdezhen on instagram