The Indian Ceramics Triennale was established in 2016 to address a critical gap: despite India’s deep ceramic and craft histories, contemporary clay practices historically lacked sustained national visibility and international dialogue.
The Indian Ceramics Triennale supports ceramics as a contemporary artistic language — one that moves fluidly across art, craft, design, architecture, ecology, and technology. Through exhibitions, research initiatives, public programming, and education, the Triennale nurtures a growing and diverse ecosystem of artists working with clay across India and beyond.
A collaborative and dynamic institutional model
The Triennale adopts a collaborative, non-hierarchical model led by artists and collective practice. Its nomadic format relocates each edition to a new city and venue, allowing local context and community to shape the platform anew each time. To this aim, we are committed to accessibility and issue an Global Open Call inviting artists to respond to each edition’s curatorial theme—ensuring the discovery of new voices and practices beyond established networks.
Artist-curators: A dynamic practice
Founded by six practicing ceramic artists—Anjani Khanna, Madhvi Subrahmanian, Neha Kudchadkar, Reyaz Badaruddin, Sharbani Das Gupta, and Vineet Kacker—Indian Ceramics Triennale aims to redefine how ceramics are made, understood, and exhibited in India’s contemporary art scene.
The Triennale champions the artist-curator as a dynamic practice, generating work, framing inquiry, and building institutional space from material knowledge. Its founders bring hands-on experience with clay into curatorial work, advocacy, and public engagement.
Since 2022, the team has grown to include international curator Kanika Anand and artist Sangeeta Kapila, with advisors Pooja Sood, Ray Meeker, and Preeta Singh.
Two highly acclaimed Editions of the Indian Ceramics Triennale
Ten Years of Impact (2016- 2026)
Over a decade, ICT has demonstrated that artist-led institutions can successfully build cultural infrastructure that is relevant and meaningful.
In ten years, the Triennale has:
established India’s only sustained international platform for contemporary ceramics
fostered dialogue across generations of artists working with clay
built institutional partnerships across cities and regions around the world
expanded scholarship, research, and critical discourse around material-based practices
built an active and growing archive of contemporary ceramic practices
expanded public engagement through exhibitions, symposia, films, performances and learning programmes that reshape how audiences understand clay—as an active medium of knowledge, experimentation, and cultural thought
Acting on the mission: The Triennale and Beyond
2017: Clay in Conversation @ Mutable in collaboration with the Piramal Museum of Art, Mumbai
2018: Clay in Conversation: ICT at G5A, Mumbai during Mumbai Gallery Weekend
2018: Introduction to the Indian CeramicsTriennale at the India Art Fair
2018: Breaking Ground, the 1st edition of the ICT was held from August to November 2018 at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
2018: Kripal Singh Shekawat: Artist, Muralist And Revivalist in collaboration with DAG at Breaking Ground
2018: Collaboration with Akshara Foundation for Arts and Learning for schools programme
2018: Support of young artists by the INLAKS Foundation
2018: Writing Objects: by Skye Arundhati Thomas & Reading Art Writing Thoughts: by R.Siva Kumar, in collaboration with Take on Art, supported by the Raza Foundation.
2018: Internship programme with Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur
2018: Presentation of the Triennale at the International Academy of Ceramics meeting in Taipei, Taiwan
2019: Indian Ceramics Triennale x British Ceramics Biennial artist exchange programme- Indian artist Shirley Bhatnagar, represented the Triennale at the British Ceramics Biennial
2019 in Stoke on Trent, UK
2019: Premier of Indian Ceramics Triennale film at Restating Clay Symposium: Ceramics Communities in Cardiff, UK
2019: Building Culture Stories, a talk by a panel including ICT curator, Anjani Khanna, presented by ACRI (Arts and Culture Resources India) at Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai
2020: Art Ichol x Indian Ceramics Triennale Residency artist Srinia Chowdhury
2020: Celebrating Clay - a collaborative project with CEPT University, British Ceramics Biennial and Indian Ceramics Triennale as a part of the British Council’s Crafting Futures programme
2021: On jury of AWARD 2021, British Ceramics Biennial
2023: Squaring the Circle – an exhibition of small format works by Breaking Ground artists at Arthshila, Santiniketan
2023: Sweet Dreams & Golden Bridges, artist talk & film screening by Adil Writer at Arthshila, Santiniketan
2023: A film screening of Beyond the Wheel, a documentary by Rajula Shah at Arthshila, Santiniketan
2023: Indian Ceramics Triennale x British Ceramics Biennial artist exchange programme - Indian artist Neha Pullarwar, represents the Triennale at the British Ceramics Biennial 2023 in Stoke-on-Trent, UK
2023: Presentation of the Indian Ceramics Triennale and Contemporary Indian Ceramics at the NCECA conference in the USA.
2023: Support of young artists by the INLAKS Foundation
2023: Presented the Indian Ceramics Triennale at Art beyond the Canvas, organised by AVID Learning
2023: A curtain raiser to announce the 2nd edition of the Indian Ceramics Triennale: Common Ground, at Khoj Artist Studios, New Delhi
2023: Evolving Clay Practises, a curtain raiser to Common Ground, the 2024 edition of Indian Ceramics Triennale at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad City Museum, Mumbai
2024: Common Ground, 2nd edition of ICT held between January - March 2024 at Arthshila, New Delhi
2024: In Transit - An exhibition of Ceramics by members of the International Academy of Ceramics at the Indian Ceramics Triennale in collaboration with the International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva and Gallerie Nvya
2024: Clay in Common - a community project presented at the India Art Fair, 2024
2024: The Clay Seminars, online seminars in collaboration with the Ceramics Research Centre, University of Westminster, UK, New York University,USA and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
2024: Common Ground: a short film presented at the International Academy of Ceramics conference in Portugal.
2024: From Mumbai to South Kensington - an event in conjunction with Ceramics Research Centre, University of Westminster, UK, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai and the V & A, London.
2026: Kochi Muziris Biennale: ICT co-curator Neha Kadchadkar presented a paper at the symposium Common Ground: Institution Building in South Asia.
2026: India Art Fair: Indian Ceramics Triennale presented an outdoor ceramic installation by artist Aarti Vir, entitled Shadow Crossing.
