Renowned ceramicist Dr. Sharif Bey to speak at APSU Oct. 15

CLARKSVILLE, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Department of Art + Design, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, will host sculptor and ceramicist Dr. Sharif Bey for a free, public lecture, Awakening in Contemporary Craft, at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 in Heydel Hall, Art + Design Room 120.

Bey’s discussion will explore how contemporary craft serves as a catalyst for personal expression, cultural connection, and storytelling. His work as a ceramicist examines the evolving role of ceramics as a medium that bridges tradition and experimentation.

“We’re very excited to have Sharif Bey share his experience, expertise, and insight into his practice,” said Scott Raymond, chair of APSU’s Department of Art + Design. “With Bey recently being awarded the inaugural Spector Craft Prize, this is an amazing opportunity to once again bring nationally recognized artists to our students and the Clarksville community.”

About the Artist

Sharif Bey is a Syracuse-based artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Bey studied sculpture at The Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. Later, he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Slippery Rock University, his Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and his Ph.D. from Penn State University. Inspired by modernism, functional pottery, Oceanic art and the art of the African diaspora, Bey’s works investigate the cultural and political significance of adornment and the symbolic and formal properties of archetypal motifs, while questioning how the meaning of icons and function transform across cultures and time.

Bey’s awards include: The 2026 inaugural Spector Craft Prize, The United States Artist Fellowship, The Fulbright Scholarship, The Eben Demarest Award, The Pollock-Krasner Fellowship, and The New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. His works are featured in numerous public collections including: The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Learn more about Bey by visiting his website: https://www.sharifbeyceramics.com/.