CERAMICS EDUCATION IN TÜRKİYE DISCUSSED AT SSEDD CONFERENCE

• The 6th Ceramics Art Education Conference was organized by the Ceramics Art Education and Change Association (SSEDD) and the Department of Ceramics and Glass at Kütahya Dumlupınar University Faculty of Fine Arts. The conference comprehensively addressed topics such as the origins and current state of ceramics education in Türkiye, the relationship between ceramics education and the industry.

ASSOC. PROF. M. CANDAN GÜNGÖR

As part of the Ceramic Art Education Conference, which SSEDD organized for the 6th time this year, a "Ceremony of Contributors to Ceramics" was held, along with four sessions, five workshops, and three separate exhibition openings. The events were attended by SSEDD President Prof. Zehra Çobanlı and board members, as well as invited guests, artists, academics, and students.

Following the opening ceremony, a panel discussion titled "Ceramic Education and Industry Relationship" took place, chaired by Prof. Sevim Çizer, where all aspects of university-industry collaboration were discussed. Participants included Emin Yüce (General Manager of Keramika - Member of the Board of Directors of Kütahya Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Gökhan Karaaslan (Refsan), Mustafa Kıratlı (Altın Çini), Sabit Acar (Çini Koop), Sadık Erilbaylı (President of the Chamber of Tilemakers), Sedat Aşan (Aşanlar Seramik A.Ş.), and a representative from Farika Porcelain.

Kütahya Tilemaking

The second session of the conference, chaired by Assoc. Prof. M. Candan Güngör, was titled "Kütahya Tilemaking." The session covered all aspects of the history and current state of tilemaking in Kütahya. Participants included Lecturer Mehmet Koçer (Retired Academician/ Tile Artist), Prof. Dr. Nureddin Gülaçtı (Head of the Ceramics and Glass Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Kütahya Dumlupınar University), Prof. Dr. Şerife Cengiz (Art and Culture Management, Istanbul Aydın University), and Yavuz Selim Güler (Pera Museum).

The third session was chaired by Prof. Zehra Çobanlı. The speakers, who broadly discussed the beginnings and current state of ceramics education in Türkiye, were Prof. Beril Anılanmert (Ceramic Artist, Retired Faculty Member), Assoc. Prof. Vedat Kacar (Department of Traditional Turkish Arts, Old Tile Restoration, Faculty of Fine Arts, Dokuz Eylül University), and Prof. Seyhan Yılmaz (Head of the Ceramics and Glass Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Kastamonu University).

Ceramics Education in Türkiye

The panel titled "Ceramics Education in Türkiye" shared up-to-date information on the subject. The panel, chaired by Prof. Burcu Öztürk Karabey, included the following speakers: Dr. Ayşe Gül Çetin (Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass), Assoc. Prof. Betül Aytepe Serinsu (Nevşehir University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass), Prof. Hasan Başkırkan (Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass, Deputy Dean), Assoc. Prof. Kamuran Özlem Sarnıç (Akdeniz University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics), and Prof. Yeşim Zümrüt (Çanakkale 18 Mart University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass).

The final session, titled "Graduate Student Profile," was chaired by Prof. Dr. Nureddin Gülaçtı. The session, which addressed all the problems and suggestions of graduate students regarding ceramics education, was attended by Ali Can Ayma, Harun Kereci, and Rana Gül.

The exhibitions that opened simultaneously as part of the 6th Ceramic Art Education Conference were: the Glaze Exhibition, the Tile Exhibition, and the Graduation Projects Exhibition. Artists, academics, and students from various cities and educational institutions across Türkiye participated in the exhibitions, which were held in three separate halls.

Invited artists

A section of the conference was also dedicated to invited artist presentations and workshops. In this context, artists had the opportunity to share their production techniques with the audience; Assoc. Prof. Elize Au (University of North Texas, USA) presented the process of creating her works through casting; Dr. Canan Güneş (Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass), Ali Buskar, Celal Uslu, Mehmet Yıldırım, and Taner Zabun presented pottery wheel shaping techniques; Assoc. Prof. Emre Can (Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Ceramics and Glass) presented the Use of 3D Printers in the Ceramic Production Process; Assoc. Prof. İsmet Yüksel (Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass) presented the CNC modeling process; Assoc. Prof. Oya Aşan Yüksel (Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass) presented Photocopy Printing Techniques; Assoc. Leyla Kubat (Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Ceramics and Glass) conducted a workshop on Slip Pouring and Underglaze Decoration with Aplicator, Yıldız Söğüt and Mustafa Dumanlar conducted a Tile Workshop, and Lecturer Gökhan Akça (Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Ceramics and Glass) conducted a workshop on Relief Modeling Techniques.

The abstract book of the papers presented at the 6th Ceramic Art Education Conference, which included factory tours on the final day, has been published digitally.

As is known, the Ceramic Art Education and Change Association was founded in Eskişehir in 2013 and has subsequently held events in Bilecik, Çanakkale, Bolu, İzmir, Antalya, and most recently Kütahya. The association will continue its activities with events to be organized in different cities in 2026.