Ceramics without zing

The British Ceramic Biennial (2011) is going on in Stoke at the moment. It’s supposed to be a huge six week jamboree of all that’s best on the ceramics and pottery scene, but it all feels disturbingly low-key to me. The number of venues doing very much has reduced considerably since the last one in 2009. Maybe it’s the recession.

The old Spode Pottery factory in Stoke town centre is more or less abandoned now after Spode got into trouble and had to be taken over.  However, as you can see, its large, empty spaces have provided the ideal site for the exhibitions being mounted during the BCB.

It’s all free of course, so one shouldn’t complain I suppose, but I did feel the site – and the way things were displayed – did lack a certain zing.

Link: British Ceramic Biennial