Michael Strand, head of the NDSU Department of Visual Arts, has been selected for the 2013 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Biennial, one of the most prestigious exhibitions globally for contemporary ceramic practices.

Strand’s work, “The Misfit Cup Liberation Project,” was one of 39 selected for the exhibition from more than 1,300 submissions. The exhibition will be held at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Houston. Strand will travel to Houston for the opening reception and present a lecture at the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts.

In early February, Strand visited Kansas State University to present a lecture, visit with graduate students and work with students on his ArtStimulus project, a cup drop in the town of Dwight, Kan. The students made ceramic cups to deliver to unsuspecting residents living in Dwight. The goal of the project is to challenge the conventional ways individuals acquire objects and has been written about internationally. While this is Strand’s fourth duplication of ArtStimulus, it is the first time it has involved the work of other artists.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.