Here’s where you can roll up your sleeves and get muddy! There are workshops for everyone at every level. You’ll learn all sorts, from throwing on the wheel and hand-building to glazing techniques, surface decoration, and firing processes.

Led by renowned NZ based and international potters with an emphasis on hands-on learning, our workshops give you the chance to experiment, refine your skills, and learn new approaches in a supportive, fun environment.

The Clay Week Exhibition Programme aims to showcase the best in contemporary ceramic arts, in collaboration with galleries and spaces across the city.

Finely made functional ware, large-scale sculptures, playful installations, experimental clay projects and more. Our exhibitions bring together work by celebrated ceramicists, emerging talent, and international guests.

At the heart of Nelson Clay Week sits Potters Square, our open-air public activity hub.

Operating every day of the festival with a rolling programme of events for all ages, Potters Square is the place to watch live demonstrations, get mucky at our clay table, try our potters wheel and lots more.

Potters Square also hosts our signature events - The Potters Olympics and the Clay Week Market.

Step away from the wheel and join the conversation.

During Clay Week, talks and panels bring together potters, curators, and thinkers to share insights, swap stories, and debate the big ideas in clay. A chance to hear fresh perspectives, ask questions, and see the wider world of ceramics beyond the studio.

Pushing Clay is coming back for its third iteration. The Award celebrates originality, with an emphasis on works that stretch the boundaries of traditional practice, and embrace the contemporary, conceptual and unconventional possibilities of working with clay.

Pushing Clay| Forsyth Barr Contemporary Ceramics Award will be presented on 3rd October 2026. 

We will be announcing the call-out for applications to this award in the coming months so watch this space or sign up to our newsletter.

Your home away from home at Nelson Clay Week.

The Potters Refuge is a space where you can take a moment for yourself, grab a cuppa, charge your phone and meet your contemporaries in a relaxed atmosphere.

Evenings are for coming together and Nelson Clay Week has it covered!

After a fun day in the studio, the energy carries on into the evening. Potluck dinners, film screenings, raku kiln firings, quiz nights and more. A chance to relax, eat, watch, and celebrate side by side.