The Biggest International Ceramics Event
The World Ceramic Biennale Korea is one of the largest international ceramic events in the world, covering every genre of ceramics from figurative ceramics to functional ceramics, and from traditional ceramics to mass-produced industrial ceramics. World Ceramic Exposition Foundation wrapped up the World Ceramic Exposition 2001 Korea with a great success. More than six million visitors enjoyed the exhibition in the World Ceramic Exposition. In addition, the 2nd World Ceramic Biennale 2003 Korea attracted ceramists around the world. Ceramic experts considered the two previous events as utmost important ceramic events in that ceramics now have a permanent base in the world.

Exhibitions, Symposium, Workshops
During the World Ceramic Biennale Korea, World Ceramic Exhibition Foundation will offer multifarious programs, including Main Exhibitions, Special Exhibition, International Competition Exhibition, International Ceramic Symposium, and International Ceramic Workshop. You can see the characteristics and the trend of contemporary ceramics in main exhibitions. In addition, you will have a good chance to focus on the cultural meaning and value of ceramics in special exhibition. Moreover, along with World Ceramic Biennale Korea, local ceramic festivals will be held at the Biennale Venues, where you will be able to see a variety of functional local ceramics, featuring the tradition of each region, Ichoen, Gwangju and Yeoju.

International Arena of Exchange among Ceramic Artists the World Over
Artists and experts from all over the world will participate in the World Ceramic Biennale Korea. You can meet world renowned experts in ceramics and get useful information on the present and future of ceramic art. The Biennale will certainly help you in your continued development as an artist. You will come away fresh with new concepts and ideas to express in your work as an artist living in contemporary times.

International Competition with the Highest Cash Prize
The World Ceramic Biennale Korea has become the world’s most prestigious international competition. More than 2,000 and 1,500 artists from 69 countries challenged to the International Competition in 2001 and 2003 respectively. After the primary slide screening and secondary actual work screening, 210 entries from 41 countries were exhibited in Icheon World Ceramic Center in 2003.

Theme
Ceramics: The Vehicle of Culture
Ceramics are “the vehicle of culture.” They express the basic ideas of culture and also symbolize the times when they were made. Different cultures have met and mixed to generate new forms and new styles of ceramics, and the horizon of ceramic art is ever expanding. It is now time for us to analyze the ideas and culture embodied in the worlds of diverse ceramics. The World Ceramic Biennale Korea will discover where artists find their ideas and inspiration and what messages they want to express through their works. It will shed light on major trends and subjects of contemporary ceramics, which are in constant change as different cultures and different genres meet and interact with each other. Reflecting this grand mission, the theme of the 3rd World Ceramic Biennale Korea will be “Ceramics: The Vehicle of Culture,” which expresses the unlimited growth potential of ceramics as a media of culture.

Issues of the World Ceramic Biennale 2005 Korea
Fusion and Evolution
During the 2nd World Ceramic Biennale Korea in 2003, we looked at the current state of ceramics as expression, traditional ceramics, and ceramics for use. However, the appertaining issues were not presented in a clear way. We find it difficult to be confident of the future direction of ceramics, which is determined in the minds and by the spirits of artists. The 2nd World Ceramic Biennale in 2003 was an attempt to gain a better understanding of the entire ceramic world. At the 3rd World Ceramic Biennale Korea in 2005, we will examine the diverse phenomena of contemporary ceramics, interpret ideas contained in ceramics, and seek meaningful proposals for the future of ceramics. We will discuss expanding the horizon of ceramics, the mixing of media, and fusion and evolution of ceramics.
International Competition Exhibition/World Contemporary Ceramics (Icheon World Ceramic Center).

Ceramics as Landscape and Architecture
The highlights of the 3rd World Ceramic Biennale Korea will be the outdoor exhibitions, which will express ideas of the environment, and the public exhibit. The three exhibition locations (Icheon, Yeoju, Gwangju) situated in beautiful natural surroundings will come even more alive with the open air ceramic exhibits. In these exhibitions, the ceramic objects will be more than merely display pieces and become a part of the landscape and architecture. There is nothing new about the idea of using natural and architectural settings for exhibits, but the ceramics that will be shown here will afford you a new experience like no other. It will show you how ceramics come together with the landscape to create a new landscape, how ceramics change the environment, and how ceramics transform an open space or other such meeting place.
Landscape and Ceramics (Outdoor of Icheon World Ceramic Center)/ Roads of Ceramics (Outdoor Ceramic Sculpture Park of Gwangju Royal Kiln Museum)/ Environmental Ceramics and Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet (Open Space in front of Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery).

Main Exhibitions
Icheon
International Competition/ World Contemporary Ceramics
A Bird-eye-view of Contemporary Ceramic Art
The 3rd World Ceramic Biennale Korea will accommodate the changes in contemporary ceramics and show works of new ideas. Looking at works entered from some 70 countries in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and other parts of the world, new styles, new ideas, and the future directions of ceramics will become apparent at the International Competition Exhibition, to be held at Icheon World Ceramic Center. The third exhibition of World Contemporary Ceramics (Icheon World Ceramic Center) will be a major exhibition of the Biennale. It will illuminate the changes and development of contemporary ceramics by taking new approaches from a new perspective. During the 1st Biennale, the exhibition brought to light the frontiers of contemporary ceramic arts in the late 20th century. The 2nd exhibition showed the characteristics of contemporary ceramic art on each continent. The 3rd Biennale in 2005 will pursue the meanings and ideas contained in contemporary ceramics by analyzing in-depth what is contained in the works. We will attempt to understand the cultural interconnections reflected in contemporary ceramic art by analyzing elements found in diverse styles.

Gwangju
Celadon of the World
Rare Opportunity to See the World’s Renowned Celadon in One Place
An exhibition of celadon from Song China, the greatest dynasty of celadon of the world, and of Goryeo Korea, will be held in Gwangju. This exhibition will be a historical event, the first of its kind in during which the celadon of China and Korea are compared, the first two countries to make the move from earthenware to ceramics. In addition to the origin and development processes of celadon, the glaze, color, shape, and techniques of the two countries will be compared. China and Korea produced the finest celadon of the world. The Celadon of the World Exhibition will be a rare opportunity to understand the one-thousand-year history of celadon. The creation of celadon marked a revolution in ceramic culture. Nowhere in the world has there ever been such opportunity to see the celadon of China and Korea.

Yeoju
Ceramic HouseⅡ
Ceramic Life and Ceramic Space
Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery will hold an exhibition exploring the significance of ceramics in daily life as seen from numerous different points of view. During the World Ceramic Biennale in 2003, Yeoju held the Ceramic House Exhibition. It was a considered by visitors to be a major success in that it was fresh and new, showing the functionality and aesthetic beauty of ceramics in everyday life. The Ceramic House Ⅱ Exhibition, to be held during the 3rd Biennale in 2005, will take a step further. It will address the functionality and aesthetic beauty of ceramics in the context of culture. This exhibition will show how ceramics are related to living space, how ceramics can change the look and feel of living space, and how lifestyles and ceramic styles are interrelated. It will allow visitors to see how the style of ceramics, which changes in subtle ways to lifestyle, expresses the culture of our times.

Special Exhibitions
Ceramics and Architecture
The relationship between ceramics and architecture is shown by utilizing a real architectural space, the Icheon Ceramic Research Center. Through this exhibition, you will see how ceramic art is integrated into architecture. The corners and spaces of the Ceramic Research Center, the construction of which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004, are utilized to show you how ceramics and architecture can interact in a real setting. (Icheon Ceramic Research Center)

Ceramics in Nature
This exhibition seeks to discover the origin of the aesthetics of Korean ceramics. Wood craft, textile craft, and other crafts related to ceramics, all of which have been considered as crafts of space in Korea, are examined to ascertain the nature of the ceramic tradition in Korea. (Gwangju Royal Kiln Museum)

Landscape and Ceramics
The Landscape and Ceramics Exhibition sheds light on the value of ceramic art in natural surroundings. This exhibition explores the potential of ceramics as public art and is arranged as a unique garden of ceramic artwork. (Outdoor of Icheon World Ceramic Center)

Roads of Ceramics
This exhibition is an attempt to discover the potential of ceramics as expressive art along roads in the open air. Utilizing the huge promenades of the Gwangju Royal Kiln Museum site, the Roads of Ceramics exhibition shows how ceramics meet the road to create artistic value.
(Outdoor of Gwangju Royal Kiln Museum)

Environmental Ceramics and Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet
In the open space in front of Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery will be ceramic artworks about the Korean alphabet called Hangeul. The shapes of consonants and vowels are expressed as ceramic pieces, and they represent the advance of the ceramic art world into yet another new field.
(Open space in front of Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery)

Ceramic Souvenirs of the World
Various souvenirs made of ceramics such as figurines are collected to show visitors how such small ceramic souvenirs can be so charming and unique. (Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery)

Teapots of the World
Teakettles are a type of tableware and are also attractive figurative art objects. This exhibition shows the fantastic harmony of functionality and figurative art of teakettles and presents the tremendous diversity of them. (Yeoju World Ceramic Livingware Gallery)

Symposium and Workshop
International Ceramic Symposium
The International Ceramic Symposium of the 3rd World Ceramic Biennale will discuss ceramic cultural exchange, the pursuit of new ideas and concepts, the rise of ceramic art as a pure fine art, and other key issues of contemporary ceramic arts in an effort to discover and find solutions for the future.
International Symposium on Celadon
Celadon experts of the world are invited to Korea to a symposium where papers on the history, culture, and techniques of celadon of the two countries will be presented and discussed.

International Ceramic Workshop
Leading ceramic artists of the world are invited to show new techniques of contemporary ceramics. The international workshop will be an opportunity for exchange among ceramists from all over the world. Artists specializing in each genre of figurative ceramics, design, and tradition will participate.

International Workshop on Wood-fired Kilns
A wood-fired kiln is a house where the life of nature is imparted into ceramics. Although numerous different techniques and technologies of wood firing have been developed, the unique characteristics of wood-fired kilns and their artistic charm have been preserved and used by potters all around the world. Korea has a long tradition of wood-fired kilns, which are widely known to be the most unique of kilns and to have outstanding performance, and world-renowned ceramic artists will gather together to hold workshop on wood-fired kilns.

Visit the World Ceramic Biennale 2005 Korea