University of Nebraska–Lincoln Professor of Art Peter Pinnell has received a $44,000 grant from the Windgate Foundation to replace electric kilns in the School of Art, Art History & Design’s ceramics program.
The grant will be used to replace eight of the school’s 14 electric kilns, along with kiln shelves and some additional spare parts.
“Ceramics have always been very well supported at Nebraska, and visitors are envious of our facilities,” said Pinnell, who also currently serves as president of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. “Still a number of our kilns were reaching the end of their lifetimes, and it costs a lot to simply replace kilns, while upgrading to better models can be cost-prohibitive. That is why the grant from Windgate will be so transformative.”
Pinnell said the new kilns will be better insulated and will save the university money on energy.
“We’ll gain better control over our firings, and we’ll have far fewer repairs,” he said. “We’ve also picked out kilns that are heavy-duty, so this equipment will serve our program for decades. I’m deeply grateful to the Windgate Foundation for their generous support of our program and of crafts organizations across the country.”
US News & World Report has consistently ranked the University of Nebraska–Lincoln ceramics program in the top 10 nationally.
The ceramics area, located in Richards Hall, includes an indoor electric kiln room, a covered outdoor kiln pad, a glaze-mixing kitchen, a clay-mixing room, and an organized tool and maintenance area. For more information on the ceramics program, visit https://arts.unl.edu/art/ceramics.
The Windgate Foundation has provided more than $890 million in grants since 1993, supporting contemporary craft and visual arts. For more information, visit https://www.windgatefoundation.org.