Flower City Arts Center is proud to welcome, for the seventh year, 20 premier ceramic artists from across North America for a long weekend celebrating the best in contemporary clay. The event includes a special artist reception, sale, pottery exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, and talks by visiting artists.
This is a unique opportunity for collectors, clay enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates finely crafted, handmade work to meet and talk with masters of the field and see a large body of their work. Whether you prefer contemporary design or rustic tableware, hundreds of hand-crafted pots will be exhibited and available for purchase, and their makers will be on-site to talk about and demonstrate their work. For those of you who are new to contemporary ceramics, this is the perfect opportunity to see the range of work being made with this extremely versatile material.
Planning for the Flower City Pottery Invitational began in early 2014 when area potters Matt Metz and Richard Aerni discussed bringing fellow esteemed ceramic artists together for a weekend exhibit, following the example of similar shows like the Old Church Pottery Invitational in Demarest, NJ, and the popular American Pottery Festival in Minneapolis. Rochester seemed like the perfect city to hold a similar event, being in the middle of a clay mecca, with RIT's School for American Craft and Alfred University close by, as well as strong clay programs in Syracuse and Buffalo. Metz and Aerni partnered with Flower City Arts Center and, together with artist Peter Pincus, invited colleagues from around the country to participate in the inaugural event in October 2015.
Chris Alveshere, MT • Wes Brown, PA • Emily Chamberlain, KS • Jihye Han, TX • Bryan Hopkins, NY • Peter Jadoonath, MN • Kristen Kieffer, MA • Yeonsoo Kim, TX • David MacDonald, NY • Colleen McCall, NY • Hannah Niswonger, MA • Marce Nixon, PA • Lisa Orr, MA • Jonathan Pacheco, IL • Joseph Rincone, KS • Jon Stein, OH • Hannah Thompsett, NY • James Tingey, NY • Sandra Torres, CA
Flower City Arts Center is located just outside downtown Rochester, NY at 713 Monroe Avenue, less than 1/8 of a mile off the 490 Interstate. Monroe Avenue begins downtown at the Strong Museum and is an eclectic area of eateries and small shops. Local cultural and shopping attractions like The George Eastman Museum and the Park Avenue neighborhood are just blocks away.
The historic, brick firehouse building that houses Flower City Arts Center dates to the early 1890s, with both stories dedicated to arts programming. Free on-street parking is available on Monroe Avenue, Wilcox Street, and surrounding streets. Flower City Arts Center is fully accessible for wheelchair users with a reserved parking space at the front of the building, a front entrance ramp, an elevator, and restrooms.
The Flower City Pottery Invitational would not be made possible without support from our volunteers, donors, and sponsors. Scroll to find out all the ways you can get involved!
Want to help ensure the continued success of the Flower City Pottery Invitational? Donate today!
Sponsorship for the 2023 Flower City Pottery Invitational is now closed. If you are interested in sponsoring for 2024, you can learn more about our Sponsorship Opportunities Here. Questions? Please email Development Director Joe Mangano at jmangango@flowercityarts.org.