A visit to the Museum: Italian ceramics and much more…
The MIC – International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza – is reputed to be the world’s largest ceramic Museum and one of the liveliest art institutions in Italy.
Its collections provide the visitor with a complete overview of the history of Italian pottery and International ceramics, the evolution of pottery making techniques and the evolution of the visual ceramic art into figurative art, sculpture and design.

The collections encompass Italian ceramic works from the Middle Ages to the Present. A nice section displays the “functional” Italian pottery over time from the North to the South of the country: pieces molded for everyday use, whose features are strongly connected to their regional heritage.

Although Italian pottery is the core of the Museum’s holdings, most interesting collections from all over the world promote the understanding and appreciation of International ceramic art and history.

The Museum is namely proud to display important works from the Pre-Columbian America, the Classic Greece, the Roman Age, the Far and Middle East and the largest collection in Italy of Muslim and Hispano Moresque pottery.

The promotion of the Modern and Contemporary Ceramic Art is another primary objective of the Museum, which is actively pursued through the display of permanent collections of International and Italian ceramic works, the organization of exhibitions and importantly, the Faenza Prize – the International Competition of Contemporary Ceramic Art.
Since the very first competition in 1938 to the last one in 2007 this event has been bringing together the most innovative ceramic artists from all over the world.

The Mic Centennial Events
The MIC Management insists that best way to celebrate 100 years is to keep on devoting the best efforts to deliver the Museum’s mission that is to continuously improve the ceramic collections, to strengthen the educational program and to encourage the development of the local and Italian ceramic craftsmanship.
Despite the strong commitment to everyday tasks, lots of events are being organized to celebrate the MIC Centennial. We’ll list for you the ones that have already been defined. Other events are on the way. We’ll keep you posted on them.

• Grand opening of the newly refurbished Muslim Ceramics Section
  The Muslim Ceramic Section has recently re-opened after an extensive re-organization of the Museum’s holdings and the adoption of many new educational supports.A visit to this Section is an absolute must for the pottery lover who wishes to learn about the technical and artistic origin of the Western pottery.
  The collections offers in fact a very thorough overview of pottery making in the Islamic world, from the 9th century to the 20th century.
  The pottery collections are representative of many regions: Iran, Syria, Egypt, Turkey.Particularly charming are the ceramics works from Iran. Their patterns, their colors and their techniques were exported to Spain by Muslim potters and became the lively source of Hispano Moresque ceramics. Italian Majolicas in turn owe a great deal to Hispano Moresque pottery. The collection of Hispano Moresque ceramics is very rich. In addition to the white and blue pottery from Malaga and Manises, the Museum holds some beautiful luster plates and vases. However the real pride of the Muslim section is its huge collection of potsherds, which are often complementary to the collections of art works. Mostly of them were excavated in ancient kiln sites in Egypt and they have been painstakingly catalogued by the MIC’s professional staff.
• The Museum elsewhere: Faience – 100 years of the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza
  April 2 – May 30, 2008, Roma
  The MIC will move to Rome 150 masterpieces, accurately chosen to represent the history of the ceramic art from the 15th to the 21st century.
  The exhibition will be held in a magnificent setting: the Library of the Chamber of Deputies in Rome and it will be opened on April 1 by the President of the Chamber of Deputies.Library of the Chamber of Deputies, Palazzo San Macuto
  Via del Seminario 76, Rome
  Tel. 0039 06 67603476 (info),
  www.camera.it
• Il Bello dei Butti – Potsherds from kiln sites around Faenza
  Date not available
  The “Butti” were open holes, pits or ditches where the local potters threw their kiln’s wastes.
  They are now a precious source of information on the evolution of the potters’ techniques, the shapes, material and patterns of everyday ceramic tableware and kitchenware. Actually a Butto contains much more than potsherds: it is a real slice of life. A thorough analysis of a butto provides interesting information on people’s diet and food tastes, on the coins and harnesses they used, the type of animals they chased or kept as pets…The MIC is planning to display the relevant content of seven Butti dating between the Middle Ages and the 18th century.
• The Paradise Tiles
  April 18 – end June, 2008
  Tiles from well known artists will be exhibited in three separate events:
  1. The Garden of Eden. 100 tiles created by famous contemporary industrial designers
  2. The Paradise tiles. Liberty tiles from European private collections.
  3. The most important contemporary tiles from the Museum’s storage rooms.
• Bertozzi and Casoni – Solo exhibition
  October 31 – February 15, 2009
  Bertozzi & Casoni are two contemporary Italian artists.
  Their works are often a mix of different ceramic techniques, some of them very traditional, some other completely experimental.

Ceramic Classes – Playing with Art
“Playing with Art” is a teaching laboratory where children learn to manipulate clay with a creative and free process. The end purpose is to make children feel at home with Art. The method is simple, yet, exciting: they can create their own shapes, work with colors and volumes and experience different techniques.

According to this teaching method, the relevant part of the game is not the result, but the creative process. Teachers stimulate the kids to experiment the use of new tools and the impact of the different techniques on the clay. Once a technique is known, the teachers bring the relevant Museum’s works to the kids, who are now perfectly able to discover their “secrets”. Once the piece is familiar the teacher will be able to tell the kids more about his history, aesthetics and technical value, in a language which will be in tune with kids’ age.

Artists are often invited to the classes. They come to play with them, never to show them their works. On the contrary they involve the kids in their personal relationship with the materials and tools, show them their special techniques and how a different sensitiveness and artistic intent can give way to an altogether original result.
At the end of the course the children will visit the Museum perfectly understanding the language of the art works.
Classes open to teachers and adults who wish to learn this method are held every year.

Concerts at the MIC
The Museum is proud to regularly host Concerts, which are held every Saturday afternoon and Monday morning. It’s a very unusual and charming setting, where art wonderfully combines with art.

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MIC – Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche
Viale Alfredo Baccarini 19 – Faenza (Ravenna)
Info: 0546697311 – info@micfaenza.org