SEACS guest speaker Marty Gross has been announced as one of the recipients of the Japan Foundation Awards for 2025 recognising his work collecting and restoring old films that highlight early Asian potters and their craft. “Through his Mingei Film Archive Project, he has unearthed and meticulously restored rare 16 mm footage captured in the 1930s by the legendary British potter Bernard Leach—a captivating visual testament to the influential Mingei (Folk Craft) Movement. Driven by a deep passion for this cultural movement, Gross has traveled to Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the US to gather footage, gradually compiling a vast archive. This collection has rekindled the belief, held by the Mingei Movement, that beauty can be found in everyday handcrafted objects, breathing new life into the movement’s timeless spirit for today’s audiences.” For more information on Marty and his work, click here. Amongst the films Marty shared with SEACS members was a film showing how Leach taught Japanese potters how to pull handles on cups (see accompanying photo – Leach in 1954 in Onda).
