The Municipalities of Alcobaça and Caldas da Rainha, together with the Portuguese Association of
Cities and Towns of Ceramics (AptCVC), organised the 51st Congress of the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC), which took place in Alcobaça and Caldas da Rainha between 16 and 20 September.
September.

The IAC, founded in Geneva in 1952, aims to stimulate friendship and communication between
ceramics professionals in all countries. It brings together around 1,000 members, including
ceramists, artists, designers, authors, collectors, gallery owners, conservators, restorers,
curators, as well as a panel of prestigious institutions. The IAC also stands out for its
disseminating artistic ceramics, organising international congresses and symposia, such as this congress, which took place in Portugal for the first time and was a prestigious moment and honour for the cities that hosted it.

Dedicated to the theme ‘Ceramics in the Mediterranean world: from antiquity to contemporaneity’, the
Congress featured a rich and diverse panel of papers, during which issues relating to ceramics were
were debated, as well as an intense cultural programme that allowed the participants to get to know the country’s ceramics.

The Congress opened on 16 September in Alcobaça with the inauguration of the
exhibition ‘Mediterranean ceramics and its global influence’ at the Armazém das Artes, cultural visits to the city and its surroundings and, finally, a UNESCO dinner at the historic Hotel do Mosteiro de
Alcobaça. The following day, activities took place in Caldas da Rainha, including panel discussions at the
the Cultural and Congress Centre, as well as the opening of three exhibitions, the exhibition ‘Contemporary Portuguese Ceramics by IAC Members’, the exhibition ‘Fusion of Vision‘, exhibition by IAC members from Benelux and the ’Azulejo – Tiles Suitcase Exhibition From IAC Members‘, by members of the International Academy of Ceramics.

During the days of the Congress, it was also possible to visit a circuit of open studios where ceramicists from Caldas da Rainha opened the doors of their workspaces and invited the public in, sharing experiences and ideas. In addition to this initiative, Caldas da Rainha’s shopkeepers gave up their spaces to create shop windows where ceramics took centre stage in the centre of the city.

The program of activities of the Congress also included visits to Lisbon, where visitors had the opportunity to know and visit the National Tile Museum and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The Congress ended on September 20 and, as such, the closing of this event took place in the space of the Arts Center. The exhibition was inaugurated ‘A Collection of Folk Art by Victor Santos’, patent in the Casa Amarela and the exhibition ‘Contemporary Ceramics in Caldas da Rainha – Works of the Municipal Collection’, in the Espaço da Concas. The evening was marked by speeches from the presidents of the two host municipalities, of the president of IAC, representatives of AptCVC, as well as the presence of mayors and representatives of the chinese city of Jingdezhen, who were given the testimony of hosting the next edition of the congress, to take place in 2026.