The 2021 British Ceramics Biennial promises to be one of this year’s top visual arts events in the UK, outside of London.
So, what better way to show what visitors can expect to see, than a slideshow of images from the Press Day at The Goods Yard, in Stoke-on-Trent?
From the highly inclusive Stoke Makes Plates project that visitors will have the opportunity of both seeing, and adding-to, during the festival, through to the AWARD exhibition featuring some of the finest ceramic artists in the country, the new venue offers its alcoves, vaulted ceilings, and redbrick and whitewall backdrops to a stunning array of ceramic art.
Deeper within the rabbit warren of rooms and showroom spaces there’s FRESH, which brings critical attention to 25 emerging artists in contemporary ceramics; an exquisite exhibition of work in a Ceramic Cities Exchange that brings the work of Kasama potters to Stoke-on-Trent; and several other installations, interventions and – perhaps best of all – hands-on opportunities for the duration of the Festival.
Special mention goes to Tana West’s A View From A Distance: A China Clay Country Panorama – an eye-catching, 5-metre, semi-circular ceramic scene made-up of 18 panels based on the early 19th century panoramic wallpaper that once hung in The White Hart Hotel in St Austell.
Having admired it from a distance, visitors can take a closer look to first question whether it is really made from clay (or actually wallpaper), and then find some of the funny asides that are hidden within the bigger picture.
Look out, for example, for someone holding a sign telling visitors that it is “Jam First”, for a rewritten signpost, and a dog minding its own business next to a tree.
So, enjoy these images from The Goods Yard, and plan a visit between September 11 and October 17.
Be impressed. Be amazed. Be inspired. Be amused.
But don’t forget…there are several other venues across the city also hosting this year’s Biennial.
And almost all of it is free.
To take the first step, visit https://www.britishceramicsbiennial.com/visit/.
