About

A-B Projects

The namesake of A-B Projects is my old car, August Beater. I bought this 25-year-old Toyota Corolla Deluxe in Chicago during August 2012 (which was a tough month for me), from a friend who referred to it as ‘the beater’. Thus, this beloved car became known as August Beater, or A-B, and I affectionately painted it with this bright new identity.

In 2015, a month after August Beater died of brake failure on my cross-country journey to begin as the Lincoln Visiting Professor of Ceramics at Scripps College, I launched A-B Projects. The studio space I was provided on campus in Claremont, CA instead became the initial site for an endeavor that aimed high: to provide students with direct access to critical thinkers and makers, to augment the topics-driven ceramics courses I was developing, and to expand an artistic community. These aspirations are the DNA of A-B Projects, from its beginning on the open road, to the bowels of academia, to its current state as a global hub for contemporary, conceptual ceramics.

Along the way, between its first location and its second, on the 5th floor of the Bendix building in downtown Los Angeles, A-B Projects curated over 35 exhibitions by over 50 different artists. During this span of exhibitions, I realized that the dearth of critical dialogue I had been experiencing in the field of ceramics was a widespread feeling in my community. I began addressing this massive gap with a series of State of Ceramics conversations in the gallery. During the Pandemic this matured into a robust online series. It was during this time — more isolated from my community than ever — that I also developed Studio Sessions and the A-B Ceramics Certificate program.

In turn, this led to a more expansive ceramics community than ever before. I feel fortunate that A-B Projects—a significant part of my artistic practice—positions me to be regularly involved in meaningful conversations, exposed to cutting edge ideas, and connected with artists in all pockets of the world. I am thrilled that Ellery Ekleberry has joined my committed team of one as the Administrative and Marketing Assistant; she has been essential to A-B’s current momentum.

A-B Projects has always been an educational endeavor and now, from its new home in Portland OR, A-B presents a totally unique and globally-accessible space for critical clay minds to think, make, and form new possibilities.

— Nicole Seisler, founder and director of A-B Projects