Award

Submissions are now open for Award 2025

Deadline for submissions is 12 noon, 9 September 2024

What is Award?

“Award offers a space for artists to build upon their expertise to say something new. As the UK’s leading exhibition of contemporary ceramic and clay, we seek to make experimentation, risk-taking and ambition central to Award. The abundant ways of working with clay make it an extraordinary material for sharing ideas, provocation, storytelling and activism. For this headline exhibition of the British Ceramics Biennial, we welcome those with established artistic careers to explore and expand the boundaries of their practice.”

Clare Wood, Artistic Director & Chief Executive, British Ceramics Biennial & Award Panel Member

Award is the British Ceramics Biennial’s headline exhibition. Award celebrates the vitality of contemporary ceramics practice in the UK with ten artists selected from an open submission process.

A panel of experts who are integral to the growth and innovation of contemporary ceramics practice select ten artists to exhibit in BCB 2025. Each selected artist will receive £1,000 towards the presentation of their work as a central component of the Biennial. From the selected artists, one winner is announced and awarded a £10,000 cash prize during the Biennial.

What are the ambitions of Award 2025?

To present ambition and creative risk-taking within contemporary ceramics
To celebrate the talent and achievements of artists
To give a platform to artists with a compelling idea or opinion they want to express
To be diverse and inclusive, reflecting the richness of ceramics practice

Who is Award for?

Award invites applications from UK-based individual practitioners, collaborators or collectives who use clay as their primary material. The Award exhibition seeks to have a positive impact on the practice of the exhibiting artists. We seek to support artists who want to make best use of the opportunity, who may wish to tread new ground, use the momentum of the exhibition to focus or make a step change in their practice or to present work in ways it hasn’t previously been experienced.

Award 2025 Selection Panel

Award exhibitors are selected by a panel of leading professionals who are advocates for contemporary art and making, and who bring a variety of perspectives to the decision-making process. The Award 2025 selection panel will be announced in due course on the BCB website.