PYROGATHERINGS: tending lands, conversations, and stories; smoke, ashes and flames

Villa Albertine San Francisco and CCA invite you to delve into the topic of fires through a panel discussion featuring artist in residence Garance Maurer, who will be joined by CCA community members working on the topic of fire as a creative tool and destructive force.

Practicing a situated methodology, fieldwork, and material experiments with fire, Garance has spent her residency exploring the phenomenon of megafires, cultural burns, and the role of fire in cultural practices since September 2024. Going beyond fire’s dual nature as a tool for creation and a force of destruction, the event will focus on a return to the controlled burning methods historically used by the Indigenous peoples of California for environmental management and as an intangible cultural bond through an exploration of fire materialities, artistic practices, and collective work to heal our damaged relationship with the land and foster a sense of commonality.

Discover the material experiments in ceramics, jewelry making, and textile workshops relying on materials harvested across California burn scars and regions at the heart of contemporary controlled burns, alongside snippets of Garance’s research documentation through film, drawing, and field notes.

Join us for an illuminating evening that bridges art, ecology, and cultural heritage.

From 6:00 – 7:30 pm in the Blattner Hall conference room at CCA.

Guest and speakers:

Sunny A Smith, CCA, Dean of Fine Arts
Curtis Arima, CCA, Chair of Jewelry and Metal Arts, Sculpture, Ceramics, Textiles, and Individualized Studies
Sabine de Maussion, Villa Albertine San Francisco Director, Cultural Attachée
Gavin Kroeber, Independent Artist
Annie Leverich, The Watershed Center of Hayfork, Communications and Membership Coordinator
Program of Architecture at CCA

Learn more here or visit this page to RSVP.