ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE AT PORZELLANIKON SELB

On Thursday, 24 February 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Porzellanikon - Staatliches Museum für Porzellan held its annual press conference at the Selb site. Museum director Anna Dziwetzki and the heads of department and curators presented projects, events and programmes for 2022:

NEW SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS

"MORE THAN BRICKS! Tradition and Future of Architectural Ceramics" from 20 March to 3 October 2022, Selb.
Anna Dziwetzki first announced the date of the press conference for the special exhibition on 17 March 2022, 11:00 a.m., at Porzellanikon Selb, and informed the audience that representatives of the press would be invited in writing in due course. She gave a brief insight into the exhibition:

The title "More than Bricks!" translates as "More than Bricks!". However, the special exhibition is about a lot, because architectural ceramics can be very diverse and very colourful. It is everything that turns dull walls into real eye-catchers. Porzellanikon wants to convey to visitors the aesthetics, i.e. the beauty and diversity of architectural ceramics. The special exhibition is therefore designed like a stroll through the city. The visitors will stroll past shops, factory buildings, churches and castles and learn exciting and interesting things about the history, the present and also the future of architectural ceramics. New teaching methods will be used, which Christoph Uhlig, Head of the Department for Education and Outreach, will report on afterwards. With this special exhibition, we hope that visitors will discover the architecture of their neighbourhood with completely new eyes.

In addition to Ms. Dziwetzki's presentation, Christoph Uhlig gave a short talk on the educational approaches / educational offers for the special exhibition "MORE THAN BRICKS! Tradition and Future of Architectural Ceramics".             

"UNIKATE erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010" from 7 May 2022 to 8 January 2023, Hohenberg a.d. Eger.

Curator Petra Werner reported on the special exhibition: around 200 unique pieces from the world-famous porcelain manufactory Meissen would be waiting for the visitors. It is the largest collection of unique pieces in a museum worldwide. The special exhibition will present them in a way that one would not expect. The special exhibition is a must for all porcelain lovers.

EVENTS

Anna Willeke, responsible for event organisation, informed about the new major events / public events at Porzellanikon Selb and Hohenberg a.d. Eger.

Broom burning on 30 April 2022, Selb

On 30 April is the so-called Witches' Night. "Broom burning" is the name of the custom around Selb and is supposed to drive away the evil spirits. One of the largest bonfires in the region is traditionally lit on the large fairground in front of the museum. Two fires will be burning with May punch, beer, grilled food and live music: One for the children, which will be lit as early as 6:30 pm, and one for the adults, at 7:00 pm. The event will take place in all weathers.

Golden Evening on 20 and 21 May 2022, 6 p.m., Hohenberg a.d. Eger.

This is a dinner evening with a 4-course menu. The new special exhibition "Unikate erzählen. Artistic Meissen 1970 - 2010" will be the thematic focus of both evening events. An entertaining programme will round off the evening.

"Handmade", meeting place for design, art and culinary delights on 5 and 6 June 2022, Selb

On Whit Sunday and Monday, the market for design, art and culinary arts will be held for the fifth time at Porzellanikon Selb. Numerous exhibitors and artisans will present and offer for sale exclusively self-made works made of metal, ceramics, wood and other materials. Visitors who are creative and keen on handicrafts will get their money's worth at various stations where they can research, experiment and design as tinkerers and artists. The gastronomic offer will be provided by food trucks.

Museum festival on 13 and 14 August 2022 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the museum at the Hohenberg a.d. Eger site

Porzellanikon Hohenberg a.d. Eger will be 40 years old. The Porzellanikon would like to celebrate this anniversary with a museum festival themed on the 1980s: On Saturday, 13 August, an evening event is planned in the museum garden with a DJ and party. On Sunday, 14 August, there will be a morning pint and coffee and cake.

MUSEUM EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

Christoph Uhlig provided information about museum educational programmes in Selb and Hohenberg a.d. Eger on the occasion of the International Museum Day on 15 May 2022. He also informed about the senior citizens' afternoons at Porzellanikon Hohenberg a.d. Eger, which take place once a month with changing themes. As another event highlight, Mr Uhlig mentioned the technology days at Porzellanikon Selb, which are planned for September 2022. The programme also includes research and family afternoons as well as exciting holiday programmes.

FINAL CONFERENCE CERDEE

Anna Dziwetzki, representing Dr. Jana Göbel, responsible for EU projects and curator for the 21st century collection, informed about the final conference CerDee. Porzellanikon is the lead partner of the EU project CerDee (Creative entrepreneurship in ceramic regions, developing, educating, encouraging) with seven other partners from the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Poland. The EU project, which was funded with a total of 2 million euros from the EU programme Inter-reg VB Central Europe, will end in April 2022. On 24 March 2022, a full-day final conference of the EU project will be held to inform about the results of the three-year project. The aim of the project was to support ceramists through training, education and networking opportunities that were developed for them as part of the project. In addition to the EU partners, representatives of the Munich Chamber of Crafts, the Bavarian Potters' and Ceramists' Guild and the Fichtelgebirge Artists' Colony will be invited to the final conference.

PORCELAIN MARKET HOHENBERG

On 23 and 24 July 2022, the 2nd Porcelain Market will take place at Porzellanikon Hohenberg a.d. Eger. The 1st market last summer was successful. The exhibitors were very satisfied. Many visitors were registered. Young contemporary porcelain is presented by the manufacturers themselves. It is therefore not a porcelain flea market. Individual entrepreneurs or small manufacturers who produce porcelain are admitted. They will then be selected by a jury. The Porzellanikon hopes that, depending on the Corona rules, up to 25 suppliers can be accommodated at this 2nd porcelain market.

Applications are still possible until 14 March 2022.

As last year, two prizes will be awarded - an audience prize and the jury prize - a studio exhibition in the permanent exhibition in Hohenberg a.d. Eger. This year's studio exhibition will be held in the summer by the 2021 prize winner Angelika Krauß Keramik.

BARRIER-FREE PROJECT PORZELLANIKON HOHENBERG

Anna Dziwetzki informed the audience that the foundations for this project had already been laid last year. Porzellanikon was in contact with various interest groups of people with different impairments. For example, there has already been an inspection with the Bavarian Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, which has provided valuable suggestions. Porzellanikon is also in contact with other interest groups. Planned walk-throughs had to be postponed again and again due to the Corona situation, which would soon be made up for.

What has already been implemented:

New exhibition texts have been written, and the corresponding fonts and colours have been selected so that they meet the accessibility requirements (very good contrast, easy to read). Work is currently underway on the creation of a tactile plan and a guidance system. Last year, the Porzellanikon made enquiries with various suppliers of multi-media guides about the different possibilities offered by these systems. A selection of exhibition exhibits was made which are to be described and discussed in the multi-media guide with special audio texts for blind and visually impaired people. A call for tenders for this will be launched shortly.

ECONOMIC, TECHNICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY

The curator Kathleen Klötzer reported that Porzellanikon is part of a project team dealing with structural change in northern Bavaria. In addition to Porzellanikon, the members of the team include the Museum of Industrial Culture Nuremberg, the Industrial Museum Lauf and the Institute for Franconian Regional History of the Universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth.

After a successful hybrid conference last summer, Porzellanikon would like to continue to address the topic of structural change in northern Bavaria this year. For this purpose, a joint event flyer will be developed in which all events on the topic of structural change of the project institutions will be advertised. The kick-off event in this regard is the

pop-up exhibition on the former Thurnau shoe factory, which will be on display at the Institute for Franconian Regional History from 2 - 3 April 2022. Porzellanikon will also be involved, for example with specialist lectures to mark the 40th anniversary of

Porzellanikon Hohenberg a.d. Eger.

REDESIGN OF THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION ON PORCELAIN PRODUCTION

In the coming years, the permanent exhibition on porcelain production will be redesigned to meet the needs and wishes of visitors. In preparation for this, a visitor survey has already been carried out and evaluated. This year, the focus is on exchanging ideas with colleagues in the field and visiting other museums. In addition to inspiration, the following questions are of particular interest: What new approaches are other technical museums pursuing? Do they reach the visitors better as a result? What is technically and creatively possible and what does it cost? The aim of this year's tasks is to draw up a concrete concept with a meaningful budget plan.