Wally Bivins has been involved in the arts for over thirty years. He has worked as an independent studio artist, taught ceramics from pre-school through university, co-founded a non-profit touring theatre group, performed as a circus clown, and designed interactive computer installations. He has received individual awards from the Illinois Arts Council and the Montana Arts Council.
He is currently in his sixth year as the Executive Director at Pottery Northwest, a forty-five year old 501(c)3 educational arts organization and resident organization of the Seattle Center. In that time, he has established an artist-in-residence program, increased the student population one hundred percent and the operating budget by fifty percent. He has secured funding for programs at Pottery Northwest from the regional organization 4Culture, the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
He is currently the secretary of the Board of Directors at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT, an international center for the ceramic arts. His own work in ceramics is in numerous collections including the Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University.