珍妮特·曼斯菲尔德

    我谨代表国际陶艺学会的会员们写这封信，对2008年会员大会将在中国西安召开感到十分高兴。总部设在瑞士日内瓦并长期隶属于联合国教科文组织的陶艺学会有着50多年的历史，代表着全世界的艺术家和学者。我们的宗旨就是以文化友好和国际合作的态度并以最高的水平促进陶艺的发展。 这是第一次在中国举行这个大会，我们知道此次大会将会在进一步增强陶艺知识，继承陶艺传统，表现当代陶艺的基础上来实现我们的所有期望。以交流和友谊为契机，国际陶艺学会的会员们将与中国的同行相会，并在由尊敬的中国陶艺工业协会组织的此次振奋人心的盛会上畅所欲言。

2008年5月

珍妮特·曼斯菲尔德
国际陶艺学会主席

All eyes are now on China. As I write this, the Olympic Torch is travelling the world in anticipation of the great sporting event. But our focus is later in the year, in September, and our anticipation is for the General Assembly of the International Academy of Ceramics when we will meet fellow members and guests and discover the culture and ceramics, both historical and contemporary, of that vast and densely populated country of China. We have an agenda in China which will be a reciprocal one; it is planned that while we learn from our Chinese colleagues, they will learn about us, our ways, our values and our ceramics. In between visits to exhibitions and historical sites of ceramic relevance we will have talks and discussions from Chinese and international members on traditions and trends. And a major talk will be given by Wayne Higby as a memorial for Mathe Coullery who, as an expert art historian, helped lead the Academy from her position as Secretary General over many years.

The General Assembly in September will also mean that our activities will be reviewed; there will be reports from Georgette Strobino, as Secretary General, and Marianne Brand, treasurer, and new members introduced and council members voted in. Matters for the agenda need to be sent to the office in Geneva one month in advance, as are proxy votes, according to our Articles of Association.

One item from the minutes of the council meeting we held in September 2007 has been queried by some of our members. This is in relation to the application fee for new members to be sent with the material for assessment. There was considerable discussion at council level on this issue before the vote was taken. As it stands now, the application fee for a new member who has been selected becomes the membership subscription for the following year. The new member receives the membership card and a certificate of membership immediately on his or her selection together with full entitlements of membership. In the past some new members, even though voted in did not bother to send in their membership fee, a puzzling situation. Should a prospective member not gain admission on the votes of the council, the application fee is retained by the IAC to defray costs of office processing and the returning of all reference material. An additional benefit to the Academy means that members will be more sure of their intention and the quality of the work when nominating people as members. There is considerable work undertaken by the office staff in the processing of the material for membership; it is a serious matter and prospective members are given every possible advantage in a most professional way.

The new web site for the Academy is progressing well with members sending in their data to be included. Elsewhere in this Bulletin you will find details of this and other matters, including, of course, the proposed program of our forthcoming General Assembly, the event to which we look forward every two years. I am eagerly awaiting the pleasure of seeing everyone in China in September 2008.

Janet Mansfield, May 2008.

Janet Mansfield
President, International Academy of Ceramics