Competition theme: Go Green – Ceramics and the Environment

Future Lights in Ceramics is an annual competition for people in the early stages of their career in ceramics. Now the competition was organised for the fourth time and this time the theme was Go green – Ceramics and the Environment. “It is increasingly clear that we will have to focus more on our environmental needs than ever before, producing goods that are sustainable and ecological. Products made out of ceramic can meet these new and important issues.” the jury chair Wilhelm Siemen describes the theme of the competition. In the competition, the judges wanted to discover talented early career professionals who explore in their work the questions of sustainability, ecology and resource-saving in both production and use.

“For me going green is about thinking before acting and about respect for materials, and sharing and passing on knowledge.” Punkkinen reflects on how she sees green thinking in relation to her own work. She was surprised by the victory because at first, she didn’t even think about participating as she thought she was merely a student and wouldn’t therefore have a chance. The aim of the competition is to support people in the early stages of their career in ceramics, to encourage cross-disciplinary learning and approaches, and to promote ceramics to younger audiences. The competition winners were chosen from a shortlist of sixteen applicants who presented their works in Kilkenny in September 2018 concurrently with the international Ceramics Ireland festival.

“It has been exciting to meet new people and to travel to new places. And I have also been able to experience some kind of pride over my own work as I have exceeded myself for example by giving a speech.” describes Punkkinen her experience on taking part in the competition. The other winners of the Future Lights in Ceramics 2019 are Maria Braun (DEU/RUS), Manos Kalamenios (UK/GRC), Amy Mackle (NIR/IRL), Supawan Morris (SWE/THA), and Irina Razumovskaya (UK/RUS).

Ceramics and its Dimensions – European collaboration around ceramics

The competition was led by the Porzellanikon museum and co-organised by Staffordshire University, the Design and Craft Council of Ireland and the British Ceramics Biennial. Future Lights in Ceramics forms one sub-project of the four years long European Ceramics and its Dimensions project that covered European ceramics from the perspectives of the past as well as the future. The project ended in November 2018 and is now applying for funding for a continuation.

The project had eighteen partner institutions in eleven countries in Europe and Empirica research group from Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Design was one of the project partners leading one of its ten sub-projects Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future. This sub-project explored the future possibilities of ceramics and design, and consisted of an experimental student workshop, a touring exhibition and a related publication. The Ceramics and its Dimensions project was partly funded by the Creative Europe programme of EU.

The future lights in ceramics

Through the Ceramics and its Dimensions project several students from Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture as well as from other European institutions have had the change to participate in international workshops and show their works internationally. Future Lights in Ceramics competition offers a great opportunity for students and early career professionals in the field of ceramics to create new contacts and gain international experience.

“The most important thing that has resulted from the victory so far, has been the getting to know new people from my own field, in other words the networks and contacts. We have also discussed some joints projects in the future, such as a touring exhibition.” Punkkinen tells. Next, the works of the competition winners will be on view at the Munich Creative Business Week in March and in summer the winners get to participate in a workshop where they can collaborate across disciplines and develop new work.

“I hope that through the competition new opportunities for work and collaboration will open and that I can learn new things. And of course, this brings faith to the idea that I could have a future in the field on which I want to work.” comments Punkkinen on the future prospects that the competition might open.

Maria Punkkinen’s web page: www.mariapunkkinen.com

Empirica research group blog:
empirica.aalto.fi

Read more about the competition: futurelights.ceramicsanditsdimensions.eu

The symposium was attended by the European partner institutions and each of the sub-projects were presented by the responsible partners. Porzellanikon porcelain museum director and the leader of the Ceramics and its Dimensions project Wilhelm Siemen welcomed the project partners to the symposium and spoke in his speech about four years long journey of the project, that started in 2014. Professor Maarit Mäkelä from Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture and professor Barbara Schmidt from weissensee kunsthochschule berlin presented the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future sub-project. They talked e.g. about the collaboration between the four European sub-project partner universities, the Kahla workshop in spring 2016, the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future publication, the exhibition architecture and the two years long tour of the exhibition. The project has led into fruitful international collaboration e.g. in the field of technological applications.

Community and Education Programme Manager Dena Bagi from British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) presented the results of the sub-project Education & audience development program (Module 7). Part of the sub-project was the development of the successful Clay Pit workshop in collaboration with Shaping the Future co-ordinator Priska Falin. The workshop concept was first experimented during BCB 2017 and since then it has been organised e.g. in Finland and it has won the Fantastic for Families – Best Family Event Award 2018.

Module 1 – “Ceramics between change and challenge – between past and present” was presented by Biljana Crvenković from Muzej primenjene umetnosti (Belgrade, Serbia) and Dr. Biljana Djordjević from Narodni Muzej u Beogradu (Belgrade, Serbia). Module 2 – “European cultural lifestyle in ceramics – from baroque until today/Traveling exhibition” was presented by Dr. Claudia Casali from Museo Internazionale delle Ceramice (Faenza, Italy). Module 3 – “Architectural ceramics in Europe” was presented by Dr. Jaume Coll Conesa from Museo Nacional de Cerámica y Artes Suntuarias “González Martí” (Valencia, Spain). Module 4 – “Prop ceramics and their relevance in film and advertising” was presented by Désirée Neeb from Porzellanikon (Selb, Germany). Module 5 – “Talking heads interviews” was presented by Jean Milton from The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (Stoke-on-Trent, UK). Module 9 – “Communication” was presented by Prof. Dr. Andreas Will and Dr. Daniel Schultheiß from TU Ilmenau (Germany). Module 10 – “Skills, Value and Place – A Celebration of Skill” was presented by Dr. Christopher McHugh from University of Ulster (Belfast, NI). At the end of the symposium Lea Stöve from the German Creative Europe Desk Deutschland – Kultur, conducted a discussion between all the project partners about their experiences and future visions. Creative Desks operate in all the EU member countries to assist in matters related to the Creative Europe programme of the EU.

The evening reception was organised in the same space as the symposium. Professor Maarit Mäkelä presented the Shaping the Future exhibition at the event. “The current environmental situation creates challenges and possibilities for ceramics as a local and sustainable material.” she stated when being asked about future of ceramics. At both events, the Future Lights (Module 8) winners Rhiannon Ewing-James, Maria Juchnowska and Monika Daul-Müller presented their work and how winning the competition has effected their lives.

The symposium was the final meeting of the European Ceramics and its Dimensions project. Great collaborations have been developed around the project during the four years it has been running. Hopefully they will continue also in the future!

Beginning: Collaboration Between Four Universities

The Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future sub-project (Module 6) is led by Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture (FI) and the other collaborative partners are Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin (DE), University of Ulster (NI) and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (DK). The making process of the exhibition started with an experimental workshop at the Kahla Porcelain factory in Germany in April 2016. At the workshop a group of students, teachers and research staff from the four European partner universities and other stakeholders shared their ideas and thoughts about ceramics and as a result several of the exhibition works were initiated.

Most of the exhibition works were selected through an open call to the students of the four partner universities, but also selected professionals were invited to participate in the exhibition. The exhibition is curated by Finnish artist Riikka Latva-Somppi and the first opening of the exhibition was held at the Copper Smithy in Fiskars, Finland in November 2016. At the opening, also the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future publication was released. The publication is edited by associate professor and the leader of the sub-project Maarit Mäkelä from Aalto University. It offers various perspectives to the future of ceramics discussing it through the themes of design, education, 3D printing and food culture. Besides articles the book consists of workshop texts and the exhibition catalogue. Hopefully the publication will continue to serve as an inspiration for makers of the future.

Seven Venues around Europe

The exhibition has been on view in seven wonderful and very different venues: Copper Smithy in Fiskars (FI), Porzellanikon Staatliches Museum für Porzellan, Hohenberg a. d. Eger / Selb (DE), Millennium Court Arts Centre in Portadown (NI), Spode-China Halls at British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent (UK), Bröhan-Museum in Berlin (DE), National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana (SI) and Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (CZ). Many of the venues have been old and graceful museums but for example in Stoke-on-Trent an old ceramics factory site served as an exhibition venue. The exhibition architecture, designed by Kolja Vennewald from Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin, has beautifully adapted to the different venues.

The exhibition has been on view concurrently with many other interesting exhibitions and events. For example, at the Porzellanikon porcelain museum in Selb, the exhibition Spielraum 125, also future oriented ceramics exhibition, opened at the same time with the exhibition. In Stoke-on-Trent, the exhibition was on view as part of the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) 2017 festival, which is a festival celebrating and showcasing contemporary ceramics from across the world. Also, the Ceramics and its Dimensions – Ceramics Values conference was part of the BCB 2017 festival and several of the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future artists presented their work at the conference. When the exhibition was open at the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana in 2018, the IV. International Ceramic Triennial UNICUM 2018 was organised concurrently.

Round Table Meetings and Local Additions

The round table discussions have formed an important part of the exhibitions. The idea of the discussions is to gather together local practitioners who work in the field of ceramics to discuss the value and future of ceramics in the local contexts. The first round table meeting was organised in Fiskars and since then the meetings have been held in several of the exhibition venues. One of the round table meetings was organised in Stoke-on-Trent during the BCB 2017 festival under the title Ceramics and Education Summit. The other meetings have been held in Selb and Berlin. The participants of the round table discussions have been for example artists, designers, students as well as individuals associated in the Shaping the Future exhibition. In the different exhibition venues, there have also been guided exhibition tours to make the exhibition more accessible to the public.

In several exhibition venues, there have been local additions that have been on view next to the exhibition. In Fiskars, there was a clay 3D printer in the exhibition hall and during the exhibition an open 3D printing workshop was organised. In Stoke-on-Trent, the exhibition was joined by a selection of prototypes, that were the results of Martin Smith and Steve Brown’s research project “Extending the Potential for the Digitally Printed Ceramic Surface”. In Berlin professor Barbara Schmidt from Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin had curated three local addition: the results of experimental ceramics courses organised at the school, the final thesis projects of the students of the school and an interesting local architectural ceramics adaption. In Prague, the curator Milan Hlaveš and Dita Hálová from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague had selected works from seven studios in five institutions of higher education in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia. The local works have shared same themes with the core of the exhibition: local materials and the environment, innovations in shape and dining and technological innovations.

Also, the Ceramics and its Dimensions – Future Lights in Ceramics competition (Module 8) has been in collaboration with the exhibition. The second competition was organised in connection with the first exhibition opening in Fiskars in 2016 and in summer 2017 the works of the winners joined the exhibition in Portadown. Since then, the Future Lights works have been on view with the exhibition in Stoke-on-Trent, Berlin, Ljubljana and Prague.

Collaborations Around the Exhibition and the Future

Various collaborations have evolved around the exhibition. The exhibition co-ordinator Priska Falin from Aalto University has worked together with Dena Bagi from BCB to create a concept for play and learning with clay. The Clay Pit workshop concept was first experimented during BCB 2017 and since then it has been organised e.g. in Finland and it has won the Fantastic for Families – Best Family Event Award 2018. The workshop has been developed further and it will get continuation. The collaboration on 3D printing between Aalto University and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has continued and many more experiments with 3D printing in clay have been made. Also, some of the exhibition artists have started collaborations. For example, the exhibition artists Babette Wiezorek and Dawei Yang have founded a collaborative project Additive Addicted that explores the interface between materials, research and development. They work currently at a studio in Berlin.

The different local contexts of the seven tour venues have formed a great background on which to reflect the many possibilities of the future of ceramics. Through the exhibition, emerging young designers and artists have received the chance to show their work internationally together with established professionals. Hopefully the exhibition has inspired many people and effected positively on the future of ceramics.

The curator Milan Hlaveš and Dita Hálová from the UPM museum mapped out seven studios in five institutions of higher education in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia. Works from these studios form the local part of the exhibition in Prague. Also in this part of the exhibition, the works of students, their educators and professional designers are shown side by side. The local works share same themes with the core of the exhibition: local materials and the environment; innovations in shape and dining; technological innovations (e.g. digital technologies, and above all the 3D printing).

The selection of the works being exhibited has been influenced by the fact that four studios are focused on work with ceramics and porcelain, while another three focus on industrial and product design and only a part of their work is with ceramic materials. The works of several guest designers have been included in this exhibition; they both influence the youngest generation as educators and experiment in their own works and are in many cases doctoral students themselves. These include for example Markéta Nováková and Mira Podmanická, Milan Pekař, Petr Stehlík, Studio Vobouch (Markéta Kalivodová and Richard Švejda), Matěj Polách and Vojtěch Říha (Superior Object), Roman Šedina, and Zuzana Knapková. Just like their students, they too often work at the borderline between design and the fine arts.

The studios of the local part:

The Ceramic and Porcelain Studio
Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague (AAAD)

The Ceramic Studio of the Department of Applied Art
Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (AFAD)

The Ceramic Design Studio of the Faculty of Art and Design
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (FAD JEPU)

The Product Design Studio of the Faculty of Art and Design
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (FAD JEPU)

The Ceramic Design Studio of the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art
University of West Bohemia in Plzeň (FDA UWB)

The Industrial Design Studio of the Faculty of Multimedia Communications
Tomas Bata University in Zlín (FMC TBU)

The Fišer Product Design Studio of the Design Institute
Faculty of Architecture, Czech Technical University in Prague  (FA CTU)

The Exhibition Opening and Local Additions

The exhibition opening on Monday September 3rd attracted over a hundred visitors. The opening started with speeches and a screening of few of the exhibition videos. Then the guests were invited to see the exhibition. The speakers at the opening were the director of UPM Helena Koenigsmarková, the ambassador Jukka Pesola from the Embassy of Finland in Prague, the curator of the exhibition Riikka Latva-Somppi from Aalto University and the head of the Ceramics and Glass Department of UPM Milan Hlaveš. ”It is essential to be able to use experimentation, play and speculation as pathways towards innovation.” stated curator Latva-Somppi in her speech.

In Prague the core of the exhibition has been joined by local contributions that discuss the exhibition themes in a local context. The curator Milan Hlaveš and Dita Hálová mapped out seven studios in five institutions of higher education in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia. Works from these studios form the local part of the exhibition. Also in this part of the exhibition the works of students, their educators and professional designers are shown side by side. The Future Lights in Ceramics winner of 2016, 2017 and 2018 are on view as part of the exhibition also in Prague.

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague was founded in 1885 by the Prague Chamber of Trade and Commerce and it is located on the 17. listopadu street in the center of Prague. The museum building is designed by architect Josef Schulz in the neo-renaissance style and built between 1897 and 1899. The building has recently been re-opened after renovation.

Prague – the last stop of the touring exhibition

The exhibition was on display for the first time at the Copper Smithy in Fiskars (Finland) in autumn 2016. Since then the exhibition has toured around Europe and been on view at the Porzellanikon porcelain museum in Selb (Germany), at the Millennium Court Arts Centre in Portadown (Northern Ireland), at the Spode Halls as part of the British Ceramics Biennial 2017 festival in Stoke-on-Trent (UK), at the Bröhan-Museum in Berlin (Germany), at the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and now finally at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague (Czech Republic).

The exhibition is part of the Ceramics and its Dimensions project that is partly funded by the Creative Europe programme of the EU.

The meeting brought together a broad summit of ceramic educators, from Higher Education Institutions, Adult Education, private studios and other partners such as museums, nonprofit organisations, charities and individuals associated in the Shaping the Future exhibition. The objective of the summit was to facilitate a workshop, through which ideas for a new organisation,  a ceramics education subject network, could be explored.

Through the workshop, a call to action was developed – working towards a manifesto, which the group wishes to take forward during 2018. The workshop allowed the participants to clarify shared concerns and define what they stand for as a group. The priorities of the summit were communication, information sharing, inclusivity, networks, confidence, influence, advocacy, collaboration, well-being, shared concerns, risk taking, visibility, vociferous, support and opportunism.

Worksheet “2. What is the organisation?”
The fundamental premise of the workshop was to build a new subject network, an inclusive and diverse network that supports the breadth of the subject. This worksheet documents the collective subject vision of the group, looking at motivations, ethos, agency and vision. From here, the group began to explore agents/participants and their roles in building an active network/organisation. Based on this vision, in the later stages of the workshop, the group defined ‘what we stand for’ to be:

*   Ensuring that everybody has the opportunity and right to experience making > material
*   Supporting the diversity of materials and making processes by hand / using stuff to do things
*   Thinking and acting about the world through the materials CLAY

Read more about the Ceramics and Education Summit 2017 on the summit document

GO GREEN: CERAMICS – FUNCTIONAL, SUSTAINABLE, BEAUTIFUL

Short Film Competition

The theme of the competition “Go Green: Ceramics – Functional, Sustainable, Beautiful” invites the participants to take a look at ceramic materials in relation to the current culinary, dining and social culture. An important aspect in the competition is the value of ceramic products as they combine ecological sustainability, functionality and beauty in appearance. The social relevance, modernity and timeliness of ceramic products in Europe are also important viewpoints in the competition.

A wide range of filming styles are encouraged including documentary, fictional, animated or a combination of everything. The contribution length is limited to at least 15 to a maximum of 60 seconds. The closing date of the competition is on October 7th, 2018.

Applicants: 

All students and apprentices with film science or design background as well as graduates up to two years after their studies or training can take part in the competition. In addition, experienced film producers and film enthusiasts are invited to contribute to the competition. All participants must be at least 18 years old.

Technical information:

The clips should be uploaded on the Clip Award-Website (www.gogreen-clipaward.org). For the best possible results it is recommended to upload the film with the following technical specifications:
•    video format: HD/Full-HD, 1080p – 1920p
•    audio format: aac
•    file format: mp4, m4v, mov, avi, mpg (optimum: H.264, aac, 25 fps, 5000 kBit/s)
•   NB! Films may be submitted in any language, as long as they have German or English subtitles.

Prizes:

1. PRIZE 2.000 €
2. PRIZE 1.000 €
3. PRIZE 500 €
4. TO IO. PRIZE
 Material prizes worth 500 € each
AUDIENCE AWARD 
2 nights including breakfast for 2 
in a 4-star hotel in Bad Alexanderbad the land of porcelain

The award ceremony will take place on November 6, 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

More information:

Further information about the competition (e.g. about the terms and condition and jury) can be found on the competition website and on the Ceramics and its Dimensions website.

Clip Award 2018 is part of the EU-Project Ceramics and its Dimensions, which is led by Porzellanikon porcelain museum and co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. The competition is carried out in co-operation with Kahla porcelain.

Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future exhibition opened on Tuesday May 15th for the sixth time, this time at the National Museum of Slovenia (Narodni Muzej Slovenije) in Ljubljana.

Opening at the National Museum of Slovenia

The opening started with a speech from Barbara Ravnik, the director of the National Museum of Slovenia and her speech was followed by a speech from Wilhelm Siemen, the director of Porzellanikon and the leader of the Ceramics and its Dimensions project. He spoke about the importance of European collaboration and that one of the important missions of the project is to take ceramics into the future. “We want to show people that ceramics in everywhere in our lives” he stated.

Professor Maarit Mäkelä, the leader of the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future sub-project, spoke in her opening speech about how future is built together with students, teachers, professors and professionals. This is also one of the reasons why their works are shown side by side in the exhibition. She ended her speech with an invitation: “Via this exhibition I invite you to co-envision with the exhibiting artists and designers how the intersection of different fields – in this case art, craft, design and technology – might overlap productively in the future, especially in the context of ceramics.” Finally Damjana Pečnik, the State secretary at Ministry of Culture of Slovenia, opened the exhibition.

The Future Lights winners that have been traveling with the exhibition since Portadown (NI) are also this time on view next to the exhibition in Ljubljana. The next Future Lights competition will be held at Kilkenny Castle (UK) in September 2018.

IV International Ceramic Triennial UNICUM 2018

At the same time with the Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future exhibition the fourth International Ceramic Triennial UNICUM 2018 is organised at the museum. The triennial exhibition opened on May 18th and will be open until September 30th 2018.

Tour ends in Prague later this year

The Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future exhibition has been on view in five different cities around Europe during one and a half years: Fiskars (Finland), Selb (Germany), Portadown (Northern Ireland), Stoke-on-Trent (UK) and Berlin (Germany).  Ljubljana is the sixth city where the exhibition is on display. The seventh and last venue of the exhibition will be at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, where the exhibition will open in the beginning of September.

In Berlin the core exhibition was supplemented by current student projects from Weißensee School of Art and Design Berlin. The student projects were supervised by Professor Barbara Schmidt from Weißensee. She was also responsible for the Berlin edition of the Shaping the Future exhibition and gave several guided tours through the exhibition during the three months it was open at Bröhan-Museum.

A part of the events related to the Shaping the Future exhibition are the Round Table meetings that are organised at the exhibition venues around Europe. In Berlin the Ceramics and Talks event was organised as a local adaption of the Round Table concept. Before Berlin the discussions have taken place already in Fiskars (Finland) Selb (Germany) and Stoke-on-Trent (UK).  The idea of the discussions is to discuss the value and future of ceramics in the local context and in relation to the themes of the Shaping the Future exhibition. The participants are local people working in the field of ceramic as well as people associated in the Shaping the Future exhibition.

During the Ceramics and Talks event in Berlin the students of Weißensee presented their works that are a part of the Shaping the Future exhibition and made the exhibition more accessible to the audience through tastings and live performances. Open to the general public, the event attracted numerous guests who had the opportunity to take part in for example a Coffee Ceremony, taste fermented food with specially designed ceramic tools, decorate plates with the Melodic Scribe installation and understand the process of ceramic 3D printing through a live demonstration. Professor Barbara Schmidt and students introduced the exhibition and gave background information of the works on display. Invited guests and visitors exchanged thoughts on the future perspectives of ceramics in vivid discussions.

The Creative Europe programme of EU has been funding the Ceramics and its Dimensions project that has eighteen partner institutions in eleven different countries in Europe. The project includes a wide range of different perspectives to ceramics. Finnish  Aalto University leads one of its sup-projects: the Shaping the Future Module, that concentrates on the future of ceramics and has been conducted together with students.

– Together with students we vision what the future of the field of ceramics and what their own job descriptions could look like in the future, tells Falin.

Cultural heritage is one of the starting points of the whole project. All the partners involved share a common interest in working for ceramics and for creating international networks. The know-how of the field is in danger to decrease on European level and this is one of the reasons why international collaboration is so important.

– Through the project, we try to understand ceramics in different cultures and think of ways how to use this knowledge in the future. We raise the profile of the field of ceramics and develop it in collaboration with the other European partners, describes Falin.

At the moment the touring Ceramics and its Dimensions: Shaping the Future exhibition is on its way to its sixth venue: the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The exhibition will open there on May 16th 2018.

On the video Shaping the Future coordinator Priska Falin tells about the European Ceramics and its Dimensions project (4:54).

More information about the event (in Finnish)

The program of the event (in Finnish)