The North Carolina Pottery Center

North Carolina has a long and rich tradition of pottery making as an art form and as a way of making a living. The North Carolina Pottery Center was established to record and honor the achievements of the people associated with this tradition.

The North Carolina Pottery Center serves a variety of social, educational and historic functions. The Center is strategically located in Seagrove, a rural Randolph County town universally acknowledged as the center of the folk pottery movement in North Carolina. Visitors to the region begin their tour of the local potteries at the Center, where they receive a historic overview of the pottery of North Carolina and the artisans who made the work on display.

Adjacent to the Center is a large classroom and studio equipped with clay, wheels, and kilns where the visitor can see objects being made, and, if they choose, participate in making their own pottery. Additionally, the visitor is offered information about the local potteries and maps to their studios.

Design Dimension, working with Frank Harmon, Architect and Gottliebdesign, developed the exhibit strategy and interior treatments for the public portions of the Center. Recessed casework, risers and a slatted wall system in the main Exhibit Hall display pottery, artifacts and associated interpretive materials in understated manner which is honorific to the work while remaining sympathetic to the visual language of the architecture. The result is a melding of the exhibits and the building into a rich, seamless experience for the visitor.

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