Today British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) announces a new venue for its ninth edition, which takes place in Stoke-on-Trent from 6 September to 19 October 2025. Spode Works – the post-industrial site of the original Spode factory in Stoke Town – will be animated by exhibitions, screenings, talks and events, shining a light on Stoke-on-Trent’s industrial heritage and creative spirit.
‘It is wonderful to be presenting the British Ceramics Biennial in such an iconic and important setting this year. Spode is a significant part of Stoke-on-Trent’s story. The history and atmosphere of the site provides a fitting context for the works we’ll be showing at the Biennial, which showcases the most ambitious, exciting and important new work in ceramic and clay.
‘Spode is also a stone’s throw from the train station, which we hope will encourage even more visitors from beyond the city. We look forward to once again seeing hundreds of people passing through the Spode gates.’
Clare Wood, CEO & Artistic Director of the British Ceramics Biennial
Following Stoke-on-Trent being named a World Craft City, and in the year that the city celebrates its centenary, British Ceramics Biennial will spotlight leading contemporary ceramic artists and introduce fresh new talent through new commissions and international partnerships.
Award 2025
In BCB’s headline exhibition Award, ten leading artists working in ceramics have been selected to explore and expand the boundaries of their practice through the creation of new work: Kyra Cane, Fernando Casasempere, Noor Ali Chagani & Clio Lloyd-Jacob, Susan Halls, Leah Jensen, Charlotte Moore, Jane Perryman, Alison Rees, Daniel Silver and Jo Taylor. From investigating housing insecurity and the catastrophe of wildfires to exploring the sculptural potential of clay, these artists use their material for activism, provocation and storytelling. Award is the leading platform for contemporary ceramic practice in the UK, with one of the ten artists selected for the £10,000 BCB Award Prize during the Biennial.
New commissions for 2025
People and community are at the heart of the British Ceramics Biennial. Drawing inspiration from BCB’s year-round work in the city making change through clay, Rammed Earth is a major new commission in which construction clay spoil will be transformed into a children’s playground. This project – a collaboration between BCB Associate Artist Sarah Fraser, Tuckey Design Studio, rammed earth construction specialist Sami Akkach and University of Staffordshire Architecture students – addresses the fact that the central area of Stoke Town is currently without a children’s playground. During the Biennial families will be able to engage with the project and the rammed earth process in the engagement space.
BCB’s People & Place Commission sees artist Josie KO exploring of the role of black women in Stoke-on-Trent in The Chimney Princess. Inspired by the shape of Stoke-on-Trent’s iconic bottle kilns, Josie KO will create a new goddess for the city in collaboration with local communities. Standing five feet tall and hand built from black clay, the deity figure will be displayed ‘dancing’ on a spinning turntable in an installation setting inspired by Stoke-on-Trent’s Trentham Gardens.
Once again, BCB will celebrate new and emerging talent through Fresh, which brings together 25 early career ceramic artists, and new work created during the Fresh Talent Residencies. Five Fresh Talent Prizes were given to artists from the 2023 edition of Fresh, which included residencies with University of Staffordshire, Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center and Grymsdyke Farm. The artists showing the outcome of their residencies are Tim Fluck, Caroline Gray, Andrea Leigh, Chi Onwordi and Krzysztof Strzelecki.
Following on from her Award Prize in 2023, Mella Shaw returns to the 2025 Biennial with a new work interrogating a little-known contribution to the global climate crisis. In this commission, a floor-based ceramic structure will explore the ethics and impact of harvesting polymetallic modules for use in electronics.
The full British Ceramics Biennial programme – including exhibition updates, details about the Clay Conference and international partnerships, and the talks and events programme – will be announced in May 2025.
For more press information please contact Iliana Taliotis mail@ilianataliotis.com
For all other enquiries please email info@britishceramicsbiennial.com