A CERAMICS search engine has been created by potter Ana Illueca for Valencian potters so they can be more easily found online.
All 106 potters are from all three Valencian provinces and were chosen from 153 applicants. They were chosen by an expert committee led by Jaume Coll Conesa, who is the director of Spain’s National Ceramics Museum.
The directory was funded as part of Valencia’s designation as World Design Capital for 2022.
“The oldest ceramic fragments found in the area date from 7,000 years ago,” Ana told Dezeen.
“Valencia has four ceramic schools and seven ceramic museums. We have the know-how, the suppliers, the raw materials, the industry, the crafts and we have the ceramic talent,” she added.
“The map will help make professionals visible internationally and accessible locally. It will help share knowledge amongst ceramicists and with society in general.”
The aim of the directory is to preserve the local heritage of Valencia and to encourage the collaboration of this traditional craft with designers and brands.
This is particularly important, Illueca told Dezeen, because crafts and ceramics are rarely recognised as drivers of social and economic value, and thus often lack institutional support and funding within the EU.
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