Syd Carpenter

African American artist

Syd Carpenter
Born	1953 (age 70–71) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Tyler School of Art and Architecture
Occupation(s)	Visual artist, educator
Known for	Ceramics, sculpture
Awards	Pew Fellowship in the Arts Anonymous Was A Woman Award
Website	syd-carpenter.swarthmore.edu

Syd Carpenter (born 1953) is an African American artist and a retired professor of studio art. She is known for her ceramic and sculpture work, which explores African-American farming and gardening.^[1]^[2]^[3] She has received multiple fellowships, including a Pew Fellowship and an NEA Fellowship, and her work is currently in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection.^[4]^[5]

Early life and education

Carpenter was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1953.^[4] She earned her Bachelors of Fine Art in 1974 and Master of Fine Art in 1976 from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.^[1]^[6]^[7]

Career

External videos
“Ceramic artist Syd Carpenter”, PBS. 11/01/22.

In 1991, Carpenter began teaching at Swarthmore College as a Professor of Studio Art, where she would teach until her retirement in the fall of 2022, resulting in the college no longer offering ceramic classes.^[8]^[7] At Swarthmore, she was appointed to the Endowed Peggy Chan Professorship of Black Studies in January 2021.^[7]^[9] In 1992, she was awarded the Pew Fellowship in the Arts.^[10]

In 2014, Carpenter's exhibit "“Syd Carpenter: More Places of Our Own" was one of the two exhibits that the African American Museum in Philadelphia received a $50,000 award from the Knight Foundation to enhance.^[11]^[12] In 2021, Carpenter and artist Steve Donegan, designed and constructed "hugel mounds" at Woodmere Museum as environmental art pieces.^[13] From January–May 2022, her exhibit Earth Offerings: Honoring the Gardeners, inspired by the legacy of Black farmers, was displayed in the Rowan University Art Gallery.^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] In May 2022, her piece, Mary Lou Furcron, was included in the Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibit, “This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World."^[19] In November 2022, Carpenter was named one of Anonymous Was a Woman (AWAW) 2022 award recipients, receiving $25,000.^[20] On December 16, 2022, Carptenter appeared in the award-winning documentary series, Craft in America episode "Home,” alongside artists Biskakone Greg Johnson, Wharton Esherick, and Sim Van der Ryn.^[2]

Collections

Carpenter's work is held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,^[4] the Metropolitan Museum of Art,^[21] and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among other institutions.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Syd Carpenter - Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art". 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ ^a ^b "CRAFT IN AMERICA: Home". KPBS Public Media. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "United States Artists » Syd Carpenter". Retrieved 2023-03-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Syd Carpenter | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ ^a ^b "A Snake without a Head Is Just a Rope". philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Four Elements - PMA LibGuides at Philadelphia Museum of Art". philamuseum.libguides.com. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sydney Carpenter". www.alumni.temple.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ Weiser, Aviva (2022-12-01). "Art Department Pivots Towards 3D Design After Retirement of Ceramics Professor - The Phoenix". Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Three Women Scholars Appointed to Endowed Positions at Colleges and Universities". Women In Academia Report. 2021-01-07. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Full List of Pew Fellows". The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. 2016-12-06. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "NEA Archives". Smithsonian Affiliations. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Syd Carpenter's More Places of Our Own at the African American Museum in Philadelphia". Artblog. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "What is a hugel… and is it art?". WHYY. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ Kirsh, Andrea (2022-03-15). "Syd Carpenter's Ode to Women and Black-owned family farms". Artblog. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Earth Offerings: Honoring the Gardeners". sites.rowan.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ Rosenberg, Amy S. (1 February 2022). "A road trip to Black farms in the South inspired Philly sculptor Syd Carpenter's solo exhibit at Rowan University". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Artist Syd Carpenter Identifies and Honors African American Farmers and Gardeners at Rowan U. Art Gallery". NewJerseyStage.com. 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ Valcourt, Chelsea (2022-02-09). "Syd Carpenter Explains Her Art Gallery Exhibit, "Earth Offerings: Honoring the Gardeners"". The Whit Online. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ ""This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World" Examines the State of Contemporary Craft in America Today | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Anonymous Was a Woman Announces $375,000 in Grants". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
^ "Deep Roots, Syd Carpenter, 1991". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 29 December 2022.