The tenth edition, which featured Italy as the guest country, has further established the Manolo Safont Ceramic Museum as a hub for artistic experimentation and cultural exchange. Over five days, participants engaged in a comprehensive program combining training, technical demonstrations, collective creation, and dissemination, fostering shared learning and dialogue among different generations of contemporary ceramics.
The Councilor for Culture of Onda, Daniel Álvaro, expressed a very positive assessment of the event, highlighting that the city once again became a great meeting space where ceramics were experienced through collaboration, learning, and creativity. He emphasized that these gatherings demonstrate ceramics' continued vitality as a language capable of uniting generations and cultures, while also promoting the immense value of Onda's ceramic heritage.
The program included experimental workshops, demonstrations of various artisanal techniques, specialized conferences, PechaKucha sessions, guided tours of the Ceramic Museum, live exhibitions, and a new edition of the ON FIRE space, dedicated to firing processes and experimentation with fire. The second Ceramic Mascletà was also held, a unique proposal that captured the attention of participants and visitors.
A key highlight of this edition was, once again, the collective mural, directed by Italian artist Veronica Fabrozzo. The artwork, created collaboratively by participants throughout the event, will be added to the artistic heritage linked to the Ceramic Gatherings, expanding the legacy built over these ten years.
Italy played a significant role, with the participation of specialists from the Montelupo Ceramic Museum and the Bitossi Archive. Vittoria Nassi and Marina Vignozzi delivered the inaugural conference, introducing attendees to the evolution of one of Europe's most relevant ceramic traditions and fostering knowledge exchange between the two territories. Concurrently, the Ceramic Museum hosted the exhibition 'Collective Ceramic Learnings,' showcasing works from major higher ceramic schools in the Valencian Community and murals from previous editions.
