We bring affordable and accessible ceramic art education to Black and Brown communities in the South Bronx and beyond.
Our Mission
We believe that all human beings have the capacity to create and thus should be afforded the opportunity to.
When everyone is given the opportunity to contribute, new worlds become possible.
We envision a world where diversity in the arts is fully realized, fostering growth and radical expansion for the field at large.
Our History
Bronx Clay is a BIPOC and LGBTQ led worker-owned ceramic cooperative based in the South Bronx, servicing the NYC area and providing ceramics education to communities since 2019.
Our workshops thus far have been free to the community due to grants we have been able to secure. We are working to raise funds so that we can open a physical teaching studio in The Bronx.
Our workshops bring groups of people together. Due to COVID were not able to organize any workshops last year. We are currently organizing much smaller workshops for this Spring/Summer.
To help us raise funds for the teaching studio and to support us in this work, we sell pottery and branded merchandise. When we have the teaching studio space, we will be able to offer more classes and bring art to our community.
About Vanna Valdez
I am a proud Bronx native, first generation Dominican American, and a mother of two young boys.
I first got into ceramics when I studied it as an elective in Syracuse. I initially went there to study Advertising Design, but Ceramics was more fun and so I switched majors!
After an almost 10-year hiatus from ceramics, I got back to it starting in 2019 when I used grant funds from the Bronx Council on the Arts to create a series of free ceramics workshops at local community gardens in The Bronx.
The success of those workshops have encouraged me to keep going and grow the idea to what Alex and I are now creating, Bronx Clay.
What drives me:
Creating community, creating the world as I want it to be for me and my kids.
About Alex Reynoso
My name is Alexander Reynoso but please call me Alex. I am a queer artist from Harlem of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage.
I received my associates in Fine Art in Ceramics in 2020 from Kingsborough Community College and have been a fiber artist for 11 years. Vanna and I met in 2019 when she messaged me looking for a ceramic instructor for the community workshops she was creating.
We worked together to teach the workshops in community gardens in the South Bronx.
In 2020, we got together virtually to take Green Worker’s Cooperative’s business boot camp to keep this idea alive, which has led us to where we are today with our idea to open a ceramic studio in The Bronx.
What drives me:
As a community organizer and educator, I find joy and purpose in sharing my skills with others.
Partnerships
We partner with local community organizations that host our community workshops.
Past Partnerships: Kelly Street Garden, Friends of Brook Park.
We are open to exploring partnerships with local schools, community gardens and other organizations.
If you know or manage a community space in the Bronx that would be interested in hosting one of our workshops please reach out to us at info.bronxclay@gmail.com.
Contact Us
We love to partner with our community and want to hear from you!