Obsolescence and Renewal: People, Place and Ceramic Histories

Ceramic Art London is an annual event which celebrates the breadth and diversity of contemporary ceramic practice. Brownsword was invited to reflect on his recent projects through his talk Obsolescence and Renewal to discuss transitions in the ceramic manufacturing histories of Stoke-on-Trent and its impact on people, place and traditional industrial craft. It examined in particular the complex knowledge systems within ceramic manufacture explored through his various projects such as FACTORY (2017), and raised questions surrounding the value of inter-generational skill displaced in recent years by advanced technology and policies of outsourcing.