ABOUT THE JUROR
Jo Lauria – Curator, Writer, Educator
Jo Lauria is a Los Angeles-based curator, author, and educator. Her forward thinking advocacy for the handmade has been rewarded with a lifetime of acclaimed projects. A specialist in craft, design, and decorative arts, Lauria is currently Adjunct Curator of the American Museum of Ceramic Art (Pomona, CA) and Faculty at Otis College of Art and Design. Many know her from her teniure as Curator of Decorative Arts at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
As curator/organizer, her more than 25 national touring exhibitions and museum-based surveys showcase her sensitivity towards the integrity of materials, her respect for the undervalued and marginalized including female and senior makers, and her zest for creative interplay. As author, her significant publications in her field include over twenty survey books and monographs, a similar number of articles and reviews, as well as nearly fifty lectures and symposia. Her most recent publication is a monograph on modernist architect William F. Cody with coauthors Catherine Cody and Dr. Don Choi: Master of the Midcentury, The Architecture of William F. Cody (Monacelli Press, September 2021).
Her honors include the American Ceramic Circle Book Award for Ralph Bacerra: Exquisite Beauty and the Silver Muse Award from the American Association of Museums for the documentary Color and Fire, about the artists in LACMA’s 20th Century ceramic collection. An Honorary Lifetime Member of the National Council for Education of Ceramic Art (NCECA), she is also Vice President of the Board for The Marks Project.
Her philosophy is to do projects that make her quiver, that bring out the connections and visions in creative minds, and that pay forward through a combination of collaboration and mentorship. She received degrees from Yale, Loyola Marymount and OTIS College of Arts and Crafts.