India's first ever Ceramics Triennale to explore alternative uses of clay

About 50 artists from India and abroad will push creative boundaries with clay, as they showcase alternative, experimental and experiential uses of the medium at India's first ever Ceramics Triennale.

'Breaking Ground', organised by Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) in collaboration with the Contemporary Clay Foundation, will feature 35 Indian and 12 international artist projects that will explore the unconventional dimensions that ceramic has as a medium of art.

A six-member curatorial team of mid-career ceramic artists including Anjani Khanna, Madhvi Subrahmanian, Neha Kudchadkar, Reyaz Badaruddin, Sharbani Das Gupta, and Vineet Kacker, was responsible for the first iteration of the Triennale.

The event, scheduled to begin on August 31 at JKK here, later developed and grew under the mentorship of leading curator Peter Nagy, renowned artist and educator Ray Meeker, and JKK director general Pooja Sood.

"The Indian Ceramics Triennale will highlight the finest practitioners of experimental ceramics working today, those who are expanding our conceptions of an ancient medium claiming its place in the future," Nagy said.

The projects in the Triennale will explore themes of scale, site specificity and/or concept through installation, interaction, technology and performance.

The event will also feature 10 artist collaborations, 12 speakers, a symposium, film screenings and workshops seeking to "broaden the horizons of the medium of clay".

"For over a decade, Indian ceramic artists have been breaking ground around the worldChina, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, the UK and USA. It's high time to break a bit of ground at home," Meeker said.

According to Sood, the Triennale will play a significant role in giving ceramics its due stature as an independent art form.

"In a country like India where ceramics and clay have always been considered as artisanal craft, the Triennale will increase visibility and allow ceramics to be appreciated as an art form in its own right," she said.

The event will come to a close on November 18.