NCECA 2025: Salt Lake City Welcomes Nation’s Largest Ceramics Conference

The 2025 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference was held in Salt Lake City from March 26-29. It was the city’s first time hosting the prestigious conference, with an estimated attendance of 5,000 people. The event welcomed artists, enthusiasts and collectors from around the country to showcase their work, discuss trends and hear from prominent artists. Over 55 exhibitions took place throughout the city, including 10 Featured and Cornerstone Exhibitions.

Horacio Rodriguez was chosen to be the on-site conference liaison in Salt Lake. Rodriguez has been an active ceramist for over two decades and has lived in Utah since 2016. He was excited to host NCECA here, having developed a deep appreciation for the state. “I love the art scene in Salt Lake. It’s a hidden gem,” he says. “I’m hoping that by [people] coming here and seeing the vibrant art scene and community, they’ll see we have a beautiful state.”

Organizing a ceramics conference of this scale came with unique challenges. Rodriguez has worked the past two years to ensure the city could successfully host the conference. “A big part of it was finding all the venues to house the shows,” he explains. “Salt Lake doesn’t have a lot of the infrastructure for three-dimensional shows. We’ve had to build pedestals for all the Featured Exhibition venues.” Despite logistical hiccups, Rodriguez, dedicated volunteers and NCECA partners created stunning displays.

“I’m hoping that by [people] coming here and seeing the vibrant art scene and community, they’ll see we have a beautiful state.”

Three important shows, the NCECA Annual: “True and Real,” the Juried Student Exhibition and the Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition, are currently hosted at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA). UMOCA’s Curator of Exhibitions, Jared Steffensen, oversaw the installation and had to consider how visitors would navigate the space and engage with the artwork. Steffensen organized the exhibition to create a natural flow through the area. “As you walk through, you start to notice that there’s one section that feels like it’s more about the abstraction, the shapes and the relationships between the shapes,” he says. “But then you move into work that is more socially and politically based, that’s looking at issues that artists are trying to speak to through their work.”

Another standout show is “Rebel Girl,” a show at Finch Lane Art Gallery showcasing all-women artists. Meanwhile, an exhibition at Mestizo Arts called “Treading Lightly: Walking the Talk” features artists from as far away as New Zealand and explores environmental themes and sustainability. In addition to the exhibitions, NCECA featured talks and demonstrations. “There’s speakers, there’s presenting artists, there’s scholars, there’s people showing off new products or new techniques,” Rodriguez explains. “And then there’s a vendor hall where all the different brands of clay and kilns are.”

“I was really happy to make that local connection and bring them into the conference.”

A special addition to the conference was a group of potters from Mata Ortiz, Mexico, who live locally. “They dig their clay from the Great Salt Lake and in St. George,” Rodriguez says. “I was really happy to make that local connection and bring them into the conference.”

NCECA is especially exciting because it offers a glimpse into where the medium of ceramics is headed. Over the past few decades, ceramic art has evolved from mostly functional pottery like mugs and pots into more experimentatal creations. Artists are exploring new approaches to ceramics by integrating other materials and tools, and Rodriguez notes a growing emphasis on sustainability. “There’s been a shift back to working with local materials, gathering your own materials,” he says. “There is a DIY aesthetic that I think is permeating the field. I think it’s all incredible.” Ceramics remains a dynamic and evolving art form.

While the conference lasted only a few days, many shows will be open throughout the month of May, including “Rebel Girl,” “Treading Lightly: Walking the Talk” and the three exhibitions at UMOCA. Next year, NCECA will be hosted in Detroit, Michigan. For more information about the Salt Lake shows and next year’s conference, visit nceca.net.

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