Flower City Arts Center is proud to welcome, for the eighth year, 19 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.
Flower City Arts Center
713 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
We are located just outside downtown Rochester, NY, Conveniently located off the I-490 Monroe Ave Exit and on RTS Bus Route Monroe 11L.
Monroe Avenue starts downtown at the Strong Museum and reaches the border with the town of Brighton near Cobbs Hill Park.
Our eclectic neighborhood includes diverse eateries and small shops. Local cultural attractions like Park Avenue, George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, and the Neighborhood of the Arts 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 and Wilcox Street. You may also utilize the Blessed Sacrament Church parking lot across the street. Please cross at the crosswalk.
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 gender-neutral restrooms.
Want to ensure that this year's event is amazing?
ROC City Granite, Bailey Pottery Equipment, Dogtown Hots, Don & Denise Bartalo, Fee Brothers, Handlebar Catering, Hydra Coffeehouse, Ithaca Brewing Co., Main Street Arts, Sumner Pearsall (CPA), Studio Sales Pottery, Wheel & Slab Pottery Club, and WXXI