Get your hands dirty with some of the best potters in Aotearoa. Whether you're after your first wobbly cylinder at Potters Square or ready to throw big, wood-fire, or push into something totally new, there's a workshop with your name on it. Messy, hands-on, and genuinely good fun.

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.

Pots, sculptures, installations, and works that'll stop you in your tracks.

Spread across galleries and spaces throughout Nelson and the region, our exhibition programme brings together celebrated ceramicists, emerging talent, and international guests.

Come for a look, stay for a while, maybe take something home.

Free, outdoors, and open to everyone. At the top of Trafalgar Street, Potters Square is where Clay Week spills out onto the street. Watch live demos, have a crack on the wheel, get muddy at the clay table, browse the market on Saturday, or just soak it all up.

Your chance to take a little bit of Clay Week home or possibly send your work home with someone else!

The Potters Market brings together ceramic artists from across the country selling their work direct, from beautiful functional ware to one-off pieces you won't find anywhere else. Browse, chat to the makers, and treat yourself.

If you’d like to apply to be part of the market send a message to andy@acn.org.nz

A huge hit in 2024, we’re bringing back the Pottery Olympics once again! Hosted by the wonderful Suzy Dunser and now with support from Bot Pots, we’re pitting potters against each other to find out who is the TRUE Greatest Potter in Aotearoa.

If you’re interested in taking part make sure you’re at Potters Square nice and early to register.

Put the tools down and pull up a chair.

From making a living from clay to a good critique, listen and share in the potters experience. Our talks and panels are where potters get real.

Good yarns guaranteed.

Your home away from home at Nelson Clay Week.

Supported by Ceramic New Zealand and hosted by our great friend Annie Mackenzie, 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.

If you’ve got things to swap, give away or donate bring them along for the trade table.

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

Talks, film screenings, raku firings, quiz nights, and more. Evenings at Clay Week are for eating, watching, and celebrating side by side with your fellow potters.

Our award for potters who colour outside the lines. Now in its third iteration, Pushing Clay celebrates work that is bold, conceptual, and anything but ordinary. The award will be presented on 2nd October 2026.

For information about the award, amd how to enter, see www.acn.org.nz/pushingclay