Program Head: Christopher Miles

CSULB Ceramics – Est. 1949

• Ceramic Arts Studies Program Head: Christopher Miles
• Center for Contemporary Ceramics Co-founder and Director: Christopher Miles 
• Center for Contemporary Ceramics Co-founder and Director Emeritus: Tony Marsh 

Ceramics has been an integral part of the curriculum and campus community at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) since the founding of the university in 1949 in the temporary location of a vacant apartment building. Starting out with a single kiln, a pair of borrowed potter’s wheels, and some donated tables in the building’s garage/laundry unit, the Ceramics Area subsequently moved to other temporary quarters during the university’s early development and relocated in 1954 to the Fine Arts 2 (FA2) Building, one of the earliest permanent structures erected on the new campus. The Ceramics Area has remained in this location near the southeast corner of campus ever since, expanding and evolving through multiple renovations to the current 17,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor workspace.

Located just downstairs from the Fiber Area, right next-door to the Metals and jewelry Area, and only a few paces from the 3-D Foundation, Sculpture/4D, and Wood areas, the Ceramics Area is situated within a hub of material and spatial arts programs, facilities, curricula, research and creative activity, extracurricular programming, and community that is central to the physical plan, curriculum, and enduring legacy and mission of the School of Art.