The Australian Ceramics Triennale
The Australian Ceramics Triennale is a national ceramics conference that began in 1978. It moves around Australia every three years, co-ordinated and run by a local ceramics community in that area.
This grassroots foundation gives each Triennale a distinctive connection to place and a unique program relevant to the times. Ceramic artists, potters, educators, and collectors gather together to share knowledge, inspire creativity, and connect with each other.
In an online world, the importance of the event only grows. For those captivated by the tactile medium of clay, meeting face to face with like-minded makers is invaluable. The field of ceramics has endless creative possibilities, but can be a technical minefield! Attending an event of this scale offers a joyous opportunity to step away from the studio and learn from the collective. Exploring contemporary thinking and critical inquiry in ceramics are compelling reasons to gather together. Perhaps the most valued and enduring legacy from the last 50 years is actually friendship! Sharing our stories, skills, ideas, and struggles enables our community to thrive, and fills our cup.
The 18th Australian Ceramics Triennale will be held in Newcastle NSW, Awabakal and Worimi land, in 2028.
@australianceramicstriennale
Sunset views over Nobby's Lighthouse, Nobby's Beach, Newcastle NSW. Photo Credit: Destination NSW
TACA and the Triennale
The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA) has always advocated for and supported the Australian Ceramics Triennale. Since 2012, TACA has been responsible for the expressions of interest process every three years and selects the future host. In 2012, profits from the 2009 Triennale in Sydney were passed on to TACA so it could create a seed fund to assist future Triennales. A portion of this seed fund is made available to each new Board of ACT Ltd.
In 2016, TACA set up a NFP company limited by guarantee was created and named the Australian Ceramics Triennale Limited (ACT Ltd). This company provides a legal entity within which to run the triennale event, enabling organising committees in various states to have a legal structure under which to operate, and includes Deductible Gift Recipient and Tax Concession Charity status.
The Triennale host group are offered support, advice, and mentorship by TACA throughout the project.
Australian Ceramics Triennale locations from 1978 to 2025
The Australian Ceramics Association
SQ1 Studios, 32 Bowden St, Alexandria NSW 2015
PO Box 677 Alexandria NSW 1435
Contact 02 9698 0230 Mon–Thu
mail@australianceramics.com
australianceramics.com
australianceramicstriennale.com.au
The Australian Ceramics Association acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and First Nations Peoples’ connections to land, sea, and sky.
We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded and that we are on stolen land. We pay our respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who engage with the Association, our events, and our programs.
As we gather to listen and speak we are doing so in the home of one of the longest continuous cultures of shared oral storytelling, material wisdom, and artmaking on this planet.