Karen Kahe Charley

Karen Kahe Charley, traditional Hopi potter, and her exchange partner, Mashpee Wampanoag artist and visual historian Ramona Peters, will study selected prehistoric, proto-historic, and historic pottery of the Thomas V. Keam Collection at the Harvard University Peabody Museum. Until now, few traditional Hopi potters have been able to have first-hand access to the largest single collection of Hopi pottery housed within the museum. Karen will use the visit to strengthen her own understanding of the knowledge, forms, production, and practice of Hopi pottery, while Ramona will study the Hopi designs to find similarities and contrasts with Wampanoag pottery. In addition, the artists plan to record their impressions on the collection and their discussions on cultural values that connect their own tribal pottery to larger concerns, including the well-being, history, and heritage of their people.