Potter down to Stoke-on-Trent for a world class ceramics celebration

A six-week celebration of clay will once again shine a creative spotlight on The Potteries as the UK’s largest contemporary ceramics event returns to Stoke-on-Trent.

The eighth edition of the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) opens its doors on Saturday 23 September and runs until 5 November 2023, showcasing exhibitions, new artist commissions and events featuring leading ceramic artists along with emerging talent.

Staged every two years, the free-entry Biennial will take place throughout Stoke-on-Trent, a world capital of ceramics, and the spiritual home of British pottery.

All Saints Church in Hanley, regarded as the ‘potters’ church’, is the new Biennial hub for 2023 and will host the flagship exhibitions Award, which presents major new work by 10 of the UK’s most innovative ceramic artists, and Fresh, a showcase for 25 emerging talents from the UK and Ireland.

Elsewhere, there will be a range of events and displays, including major solo exhibitions nearby at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, AirSpace Gallery and The Brampton Museum in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Among other highlights will be a Tactile Project Space where visitors can explore, take part and get hands-on with clay with tile-making activities designed to start conversations about Stoke-on-Trent’s rich ceramics heritage. 

And new, limited-edition ceramic tiles created by award-winning contemporary ceramic artist Neil Brownsword, along with renowned UK manufacturer Johnson Tiles, will be exclusively for sale at the Biennial.

The British Ceramics Biennial supports artists at every stage of career - from spotlighting the UK’s leading ceramicists to introducing work by international artists and fresh new talent. All will be shown against the backdrop of the area’s distinctive industrial heritage, the only city in Britain to be named after its primary industry: The Potteries.

A city that has been shaped by ceramics production for centuries, today Stoke-on-Trent is home to award-winning attractions, tours, and factory shops - as well as the place where TV’s The Great Pottery Throw Down is filmed each year.

Full details of the British Ceramics Biennial 2023 programme can be found at www.britishceramicsbiennial.com