Gozo Ceramics Festival

The Gozo Culture Office and Munxar Local Council assisted by event organizer and ceramist Joan Haber are organizing the Second Gozo Ceramics Festival which will take place at Xlendi Bay on the 2^nd August from 19.00 hrs onwards. It will be a very animated evening activity buzzing with people, creativity, art and jazzy music provided by Apap Brass Band. For the evening the Xlendi Administrative Committee will be illuminating the bay with the now famous magical fjakkolata.

The event will include two interesting installations on the beach and a ceramics art exhibition by the participating artists will be set up at the newly refurbished Grain Mill and Silos. Around 30 of the very best Maltese and Gozitan ceramic artists will be working life in the main street of Xlendi, demonstrating different techniques such as throwing, coiling, modelling, slab building and also firing. A hands on experience for children will be led by experienced pottery teachers.

Last year it was a great success, with a large number of participants making clay sculptures and ceramic crafts in the street. Visitors present were also very numerous including VIPs, Gozitans, Maltese and foreign tourists. Children concentrating on their creations were a pleasure to see, with the allocated table busy all the time.

This year we built on last year’s success and on the sand we are having an installation made up of swans  by artists and children with the proceeds from their sale going to Puttinu Cares. We will be giving swan tokens to all who donate. The largest swan and much of the idea was put together by Sam Ciavola, Nirvana Azzopardi’s very artistic son who is a long time ceramics student.

New comers for this year’s edition include the best thrower in Malta, Michael Ciappara who will be exhibiting his great talent in public for the first time. He will also be willing to help visitors, both adults and children to have a go on the throwing wheel. It is such a pity that this great talent is getting lost.

Also included are sculptors who will be modelling in clay, which will later be fired in a gas kiln.

Ceramic interactive resonating chimes by Paul Haber will be installed along the beach and in the cave facing the beach.

Other interesting and fun items include models and animators who will be painting each other with liquid clay.