Ikon presents Break the Mould – the final chapter in a trilogy of exhibitions exploring craft, art school pedagogies and contemporary art practice. This concluding instalment centres on ceramics, celebrating clay as a medium of experimentation and process-based practice.

Break the Mould brings together a dynamic cohort of ceramicists, including Jack Ky Tan, Halima Cassell and Roo Dhissou, for a series of residencies. The residencies are organised in partnership with the University of Staffordshire and supported by local ceramic studios in Birmingham, transforming the gallery space into a vibrant laboratory for exploration and public engagement.

Break the Mould also explores how the craft and medium of clay can speak to the future – through commemorative pottery focused on disaster ceramics, sustainable practices that reuse construction waste spoil, and gift economies in which clay is shared among colleagues or strangers.