02.08. 2015 - 15.09. 2015

Future lights International Competition of Ceramics

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Theme 2015: International cultural influences in ceramics

Introduction

The Future Lights competition is outstanding in its character. We aim to provide young
people with an opportunity to document their aptitude and creativity by giving them a
platform for interdisciplinary exchange with representatives from science disciplines like
technicians, material researchers, institutes and technical universities, where they can get
additional input for the new developments in ceramics engineering, and can discover new
materials for their creative ideas. They can also join networks and develop connections with
exponents of the European Ceramics industry, and explore the new tendencies and trends of
ceramics in lifestyle.

Theme 2015: International cultural influences in ceramics

It is a little known fact that, the first ceramic arts were developed in Mesopotamia 5500 years
before Christ, and we see the ancient Greek style in ceramics adapted by the Romans in
antiquity. Throughout History there has been a cross continental interchange where artists,
craftspersons and designers have taken inspiration from different cultures. We can see how
learning from others has been important to the development of the industry, for example
Chinese porcelain ware was adapted in shape and decoration by European people, and of
course, today it is very often the same in reverse. Cultural exchange has ever been an
important tradition in ceramics, and it will continue to be in both directions: imparting and
obtaining Creativity is based on talent, but talent alone will not produce anything remarkable,
if the knowledge of the material is missing. Furthermore there is the second fundamental isme of inspiration. For thousands of years human beings have learned from one another - not only thier neighbours close at hand, but visitors who came from far away. Other nations and cultures from different continents have given impulses to Europe by their special way of
designing objects of use; this can also be seen in architecture that frequently follows foreign
models and conforms to broader cultural ideals. Talking about crafts and design in ceramics
means reflecting on the multicultural developments in design and habit in the past and
present.
The theme of this year's Future Lights competition is following the theme of multicultural
influences and the exchange and transfer of knowledge. It addresses on one hand those who
are dealing with research on historic developments in ceramics art and design in an
outstanding way. On the other hand it focuses on those creative people whose work is inspired by other cultures. It is intended to address young players in ceramics who build new bridges between European and foreign influences in their work. It might be the adaption of shapes and decoration as well an innovative way of reflecting modern multicultural lifestyles.

Participation

The International Competition of Ceramics, Future lights, is especially designed for today's
young professionals and researchers. It provides an appropriate platform for their further
career, and gives them a chance to put into practise the knowledge gained, as well as move in the creative direction they originally studied for. Applications from groups are not accepted.
Applicants can be of any nationality as long as they were recently studying at a European
institution. There is no formal age limit but the applicants must not have been outside of
education for more than 2 years, or are those at the formative stage of their career. Target
groups are post-graduate level and above such as Start-ups and professionals starting their
career in the field of either ceramics, art-history or other scholars, as well as craftspersons and designers.
The competition will promote multidisciplinary working but it is not necessary that applicants
have worked in this way already to qualify.

There will be three categories people can apply:
- Art Historians (This could be historians, classicists, social historians, philosophers etc.)
- Craftspersons (This could be engineers, ceramicists, woodworkers, glassmakers etc.)
- Designers (this could be 3D design, graphics, comic book, animators, surface pattern,
fine art etc.)
The Participation is free. The Jury is allowed to see the curricula of the participants during the selection process for the final step of the competition. The winners are not allowed to také part in the next competition.

Procedures

The specified theme for this competition is "International Cultural Influences in Ceramics".
Entries can either demonstrate previous work that fits this theme or new solutions/ideas
generated and presented in response. To clarify, submissions can be of work already produced OR project proposals.
Applications are to be made in English. Others will be rejected.

Acceptance

"Future Lights" wants to support the best. Applications will be appraised by the "Ceramics
and its dimensions" working group, the specialists from the European Ceramics Society
(ECerS), and the federation of European national ceramic societies.
Following the call for proposals this committee selects the "Future Lights", which are invited
to present their theses or their creative ideas in poster presentations/exhibitions at one of the
big international ceramics conferences of ECerS, at the ICC, the IAC-congress and the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB).
In addition to the "Future Lights" call there are other opportunities for learning, research, and
showcasing work and ideas in other strands of the Creative Europe "Ceramics and its
Dimensions" 4 year programme. This takes the form of lectures on the history of ceramics,
other contests, and opportunities to submit work to the future 3D innovation programme
strand.

The competition is divided in three stages:
Stage 1:
The Jury will select 18 individuals up to six from each category.
Stage 2:
The selected 18 individuals win the opportunity for their designs or proposals to be
showcased. They will be invited to the next British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent at
the end of October 2015. There they will present their entries and their motivation behind.
Art-/Historians and Craftspersons as well as Designers will be present either by poster
presentations or exhibitions at the BCB. The Art-/Historians will be asked to present their
theses delivering a 30 minutes lecture referring to the annual theme of the competition and a
follow up Q & A session. The Craftspersons and Designers are invited to present their
creative ideas to the jury by 3D-works referring to the theme "International cultural influences
in ceramics", which can be prototypes as well as originals in ceramics. Together with the
members of the jury this will be done in a public discussion and a question and answers part.
From this, 6 individuals will be chosen for the 3rd stage. The admission to stage 3 of the
competition will be communicated to the winners of stage 2 during the BCB immediately
after the decision of the jury. The winners must confirm the acceptance of the award one day
before the public introduction as the winner of the "future lights in ceramics award" in the
awarding Cremony.
Stage 3:
The contributions of the art-/historians will be published on the Web-site of the project and if
finally realized in the "future lights hall" of the web based virtual "House of Ceramics". The
works of artists and designers having been selected by the jury in stage 2 will be shown at the exhibition during its running time. Others may not substitute these works, except there is a written agreement between the artist/designer and the jury. If ignored, the penalty is the
exclusion from the competition. Pieces must arrive, Carriage Free, at the prior
destination where the exhibition takes place. Those exhibits will become part of the museum
collection with no extra charge.
The Art-/historians selected may choose between the opportunity to receive a four weeks
residency at one of the "Ceramics and its dimensions" partner museums for their own studies
or to take part in an especially designed trans disciplinary summer school provided by the
Staffordshire University.
The selected craftspersons/designers win the opportunity to take part in a trans disciplinary
workshop at the Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent, England to work on their designs
or proposals to be showcased in the follow up exhibition or to develop new.
Following the workshop the exhibition of the works arising from the workshop will be
presented during the selection procedure for the next year's Future Lights at the 6th
International Congress on Ceramics held in Dresden in August 2016. Besides, the works will
be part of the Ceramics and its dimensions travelling exhibition Shaping the Future from
2016 to 2018.

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