​Lydia Thompson is a visual artist and educator.  She is a mixed media artist specializing in ceramics that focus on her cultural narratives. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Ohio State University and her Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She received a Fulbright-Hays grant to conduct research on traditional architecture in Nigeria, a Windgate Distinguished Fellow for Innovation in Craft award and an Artist Support Grant from the Arts & Science Council of Charlotte / Mecklenburg, NC. She was awarded an AIR at the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences and has completed residencies at the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark and the Medalta Ceramic Center in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.  Her work has been included in galleries, art centers, and museums such as the Mindy Solomon Gallery, the Society for Contemporary Crafts, the Baltimore Clayworks, The Clay Studio, Clay Art Center, the Ohr O’Keefe Museum, the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, James A. Michener Art Museum, the Crocker Art Museum, Mint Museum and Northern Clay Center.  She has completed public commissions for businesses such as the Marriott Hotel/UNC Charlotte and her work is in private and public collections in the US, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. She has conducted workshops for youths and adults, given public lectures and served as a juror and curator for national and regional exhibitions. She served on the boards for NCECA (National Council of Education for Ceramics) and NCAA (National Council of Arts Administrators), Currently she resides and maintains her studio in Charlotte, NC and is Professor of Art in the Department of Art & Art History at UNC Charlotte.