The Constant Evolution of Ceramics: The 2026 International Ceramic Art Fair

The International Ceramic Art Fair (ICAF), May 28 –  August 16, 2026, is the Gardiner Museum’s biennial celebration of innovation and contemporary directions in ceramics. Consisting of an exhibition, symposium, workshops, talks, and tours, the 2026 ICAF features work by leading Canadian and international artists. Craft Ontario was honoured to be a presenting partner of this year’s ICAF. 

The theme of the 2026 ICAF is ‘the city and the commons’, by which the exhibition was curated “presenting ceramics as both material and method for examining how we live together in rapidly changing cities. From architecture to infrastructure, ceramics shelter, connect, and ground us, offering new ways to think about belonging, resilience, and shared space.” The exhibition showcases recent work by artists Anders Herwald Ruhwald, Christine Howard Sandoval, Eve Tagny, Hadi Jamali, Jolie Ngo, Guérin, Galerie Nicolas Robert, Mel Arsenault, Noor Ali Chagani, Clio Lloyd-Jacob, Ronald Rael, Suzanne Morrissette, Jaimie Isaac, and Sharif Farrag.

Installation view of various works by Eve Tagny. Image Credit Toni Hafkenscheid.

The artwork in the exhibition ‘the city and the commons’, curated by Sequoia Miller, ranged from handbuilt sculptural forms, wheel thrown vessels, printed-clay lamps and sculpture, and mold-pressed bricks. All included artworks portray a considered design in relation to a larger concept and structure, creating a collective atmosphere within the gallery - their own commons. 

The work of this ICAF questions, “How do we nurture communal relationships amidst dramatic change? How can the intelligence of ceramics inform how we navigate cosmopolitan life? How can new approaches to ceramic technology re-shape the ways we live together?”

At the beginning of the fair’s run, a Symposium was held over 2 days which centered these questions and the theme, ‘urban space, shelter, and the commons’. Panels consisted of groups of the exhibiting artists, guest speakers, and moderators from adjacent professional communities of researchers, writers, designers, and arts and cultural workers. This was also the background of the audience - which led to a room of rich, expanded dialogue on the place of ceramics in advancing technology and vice versa, the role of artists in the shaping of cities, and how a practice in clay can foster possibilities of greater societal structures. 

Ronald Rael, ICAF keynote speaker. Image Credit Lisa Sakulensky.

Speaking to their own work and influences, the panelists connected their final artworks to community impacts; broadening the role of the artist, and expanding on what is ‘legitimate’ artmaking. Pushing forward in their practices with balancing certainty and risk, many outlined how they use technology in their practice as a tool. Keynote speaker Ronald Rael discussed how Ancestral, Additive, and Artificial Intelligence transform his ideas of craft and construction. He pushes the thresholds of what is an operated tool and what is an automated machine much through necessity. His adobe buildings are beyond the scale of a studio, or efficient hand labour. 

In examples of ways of working with clay in communities, other speakers highlighted how we can ground our experiences to better relate to each other, and how to better hold mutual resources. Closing out the Symposium was a panel discussion with Suzanne Morissette, Jaimie Isaac (both of the roving ROSEMARY Gallery), and Franchesca Herbert-Spence. They discussed how participating in building reinforces internal structures of care and tradition, giving back to the individuals and communities who are involved in the art-making despite their final artwork existing within varying stages of temporality. 

Even without intention we all move to contribute to a sense of place and structure within the commons. The 2026 International Ceramic Art Fair presented works of clay and artistic practices as proof that we are always capable of reaching stability — collectively.