MENEMEN'S 8,000-YEAR-OLD TRADITION IS KEPT ALIVE:5TH INTERNATIONAL MENEMEN POTTERY FESTIVAL
Menemen, which has an uninterrupted pottery tradition of 8,000 years thanks to the region's rich clay deposits, completed its fifth year of the Pottery Festival. The festival, which combines the pottery tradition with art, culture, music, and a variety of colorful events, was also attended by guests from abroad.
ASSOC. PROF. M. CANDAN GÜNGÖR
The 5th International Menemen Pottery Festival, held this year in Menemen, took place between September 18-20. The festival, which featured numerous ceramic events, attracted artists, academics, and masters from 45 countries. The program included alternative firing demonstrations, the Hemhal Table Conceptual Ceramics Competition, the Skilled Hands Pottery Competition, a kiln-sculpture demonstration, workshops, and the In the Footsteps of Pottery Photography Competition. Many art enthusiasts of various ages participated in the events. Children, in particular, experienced shaping Menemen's red clay on a potter's wheel alongside masters in workshops designed specifically for them.
In his speech on the closing day of the festival, Menemen Mayor Aydın Pehlivan stated that the festival brought together participants from different countries, highlighting how art unites people and how different cultures can write a common story when they touch the same soil over the three days. He added that this festival has transformed into an important cultural and artistic platform where artists meet and share their knowledge and experiences.
In the Skilled Hands Pottery Competition held as part of the festival, Oktay İde from Menemen won first place in the men's technical category, Mustafa Desticioğlu, also from Menemen, came second, and Uğur Tokmak, also from Menemen, took third place. In the women's technical category, Anetta Molnarne from Hungary won first place, Karlygash Oralbayeva from Kazakhstan came second, and Agata Teresa Marcinkowska from Poland came third. In the men's aesthetic category, Gesualdo Internullo from Italy won first place, Matthias Garnier from France came second, and Ramazan Yaman from Kütahya took third place. In the women's aesthetic category, Karlygash Oralbayeva from Kazakhstan won first place, Büşra Kaya from Kütahya came second, and Agata Teresa Marcinkowska from Poland came third.
In this year's Hemhal Table Conceptual Ceramics Competition, held with a different theme, finalists who combined ceramic art with gastronomy presented their table designs to the jury. In the competition, where the works were evaluated not only for their artistic quality but also for their food presentation and gastronomic approaches: Nisa Buğan won first place with her work "Hermos," Filiz Şen with "Menemen Tray" and Irem Yılmaz with "Untitled" shared second place, and Lilia But with "Fish Handle Serving Set," Ulieana Trandafilova with "Gagauz Sun," and Sibel Kamber Ozen and Abdulvahap Ozen with their collaborative work "Menba" received honorable mentions.
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