The Fresh exhibition celebrates and promotes emerging talent in contemporary ceramics in the UK and Ireland. It explores the diverse ideas and trends in clay and ceramics practice.
BCB calls early career artists to submit applications to Fresh, an exhibition at the heart of the 2025 Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent.
Fresh celebrates and promotes artists in the UK and Ireland at a launch moment in their practice, with twenty-five artists selected from an open submission process by a panel comprising leading professionals who are advocates for emerging contemporary art and making alongside a youth panel.
Fresh provides a unique platform for early-career artists to inspire and challenge as part of the UK’s largest contemporary ceramics event. It will bring opportunities for networking and benefits from exhibiting alongside established artists.
To be eligible for Fresh 2025, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Have been maintaining a sustained commitment to creative practice with clay for between 3 and 7 years.
- Be living in the UK or Ireland from the point of application to November 2025.
Deadline for submissions is 12 noon, Wednesday 4 June 2025.
Selected artists for Fresh will receive a £300 exhibition payment and £50 towards the transportation of the work to and from the exhibition venue. Fresh exhibitors will benefit from a national PR and marketing campaign.
Exhibitors in Fresh will also be considered for the Fresh Talent Prizes.
The Fresh Talent Prizes seek to recognise significant emerging talent exhibiting in Fresh. Four early–career artists will be awarded a prize that includes a range of unique residency opportunities. These residencies will take place through partnerships with the University of Staffordshire, Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center and Grymsdyke Farm. There is also a residency at the BCB Studio. The winning artists will be invited to present new work created as a result of the residencies at BCB 2027.
Previous Fresh Talent Prize artists include Tim Fluck, Caroline Gray, Andrea Leigh, Krzysztof Strzelecki, Chi Onwordi, Dorcas Casey, Nico Conti and Leora Honeyman.
“Exhibiting in Fresh gave me the confidence to expand my clay practice and see myself as part of a community of ceramicists in Britain. Looking back, it was a real springboard for me.”
Dorcas Casey
Fresh Talent Prize 2021 winner
