Philosophy
My work explores connections between forced migration, labor, and narrative. My practice explores material processes and information systems within ceramic objects and their meaning for myself and others. I am interested in archiving histories including written script, text, and digital images that connect us to a place and time via ceramics. My practice informs healing narratives via spiritual rituals of making objects that explore reimagined narratives of our ancestral histories.
There are many metaphors for life found in one’s studio practice, within the memory of the clay, within the energy of the material itself. Conversations occur with every failure and every success. I am winning with the ability to create opportunities within my practice that educate, inspire, and engage the arts via social practice.
BIO
Tia Santana is a Philadelphia native, now based in Los Angeles. She earned her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design, the only historically visual arts college for women in the U.S., and her MFA from the University of Delaware. Santana specializes in ceramics, using both wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques. She also incorporates her background in theater and dance into her work, using spoken word and performance to explore and highlight the contributions of Black American craftspeople.
With over a decade of experience, Santana has worked as a museum educator and taught ceramics at colleges and universities. She has also played significant roles in community arts centers, focusing on instruction, outreach, and management. Santana is currently an assistant professor at California State University Long Beach.
Santana’s research delves into the history of enslaved and free craftspeople from the Antebellum era, examining their contributions to the ceramics industry in the American South. She also explores the labor connections of transatlantic and transpacific migrations, aiming to uncover and honor the often forgotten artisans known simply as “unknown.”
Recent Research and Residencies
2023, UCLA Faculty Grant, Boston MA, “Hear Me Now Exhibition”
2023, Winterthur Maker Residency, New Castle County, DE