The International Ceramics Festival

The ICF is Europe’s premier ceramics festival which is held at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on the campus of Aberystwyth University on the mid-Wales coast. Since it began in 1987, the three-day festival has grown to become the UK’s leading ceramics event. It offers teachers, students, ceramic artists, collectors, working potters and amateurs and lovers of craft, the chance to meet and study the work of distinguished, internationally known potters and ceramicists from Wales, the UK and around the world.

The Festival attracts over 1000 people who attend lectures, watch practical demonstrations and visit our special exhibitions over a long weekend at the end of June or early July. Our international demonstrators show skills and techniques on our specially adapted stage and also have their own workspaces – enabling personal discussion about their work. The focus is both practical and inspirational – kilns are built, pots are made and fired.

The Festival supports emerging makers and has opportunities for students and recent graduates who work with clay through ceramics, fine art or 3-D design courses. If you are a teaching organisation and would like us to arrange a visit to talk to your students please contact us at the festival office. See Student Opportunities for more information.

The Festival offer visitors opportunities to take part during the festival with a variety of hands on activities, as well as being able to vote for the Lifetime Achievement award and donate their work to the Cup Sale.The festival is sponsored by Potclays, one of the UK’s main ceramics suppliers, and is supported by other ceramic supply companies. It has financial support from the Welsh Arts Council and the Welsh Government.

The organisers are Wales’s two potters groups, North Wales Potters and South Wales Potters together with Aberystwyth University.