Radical Clay: Teaching with the greatest potters of the 1960s

About

In the mid-20th century it was part of a movement against standardisation and mass production, aiming to reconnect people with traditional materials and celebrate the unique and authentic.

This was reflected in creative approaches to teaching, and the two came together in the form of a significant pottery collection run by Bristol’s Schools Art Service. Lent out to local schools to inspire young minds, it was created to give children access to the very best. A few pieces even have cracks and chips to show for it.

See 50 pieces from the collection including work by Lucy Rie, Bernard and Janet Leach, Hans Coper, Ruth Duckworth and many more.

The exhibition includes recent and archive film footage showing pottery techniques and interviews with makers.

We are reviving some of the aims of the collection through a hands-on programme with local schools, and you can have a go at some clay-work yourself and meet makers through events this autumn.

Radical Clay is part of Pioneering Pottery, a season of exhibitions, displays and events in Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham and Swindon. Find out more about this partnership at www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/frameworks.

More information available at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery website: https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/radical-clay/