The Gouda Ceramics Festival is a yearly two-day event of ceramists from the Netherlands and several other countries. The festival takes place every year on Ascension Day and the day after. Usually, more than 110 artists take part in this event, after being screened and admitted by an expert selection committee. They exhibit and sell their work on the market in the centre of Gouda, all around the former medieval City Hall building. Simultaneously, there is a special exhibition in the City Hall of ceramic objects, submitted by participants, as part of a contest.

You are probably familiar with the fact that Gouda has a long history of pottery industry. Nowadays this industry does not exist anymore. Essentially, this Ceramics Festival is a follow-up of this ancient traditional Gouda pottery industry.

During 2013 the event will be held for the 38th time (on May 9 and 10). In recent years this ceramics market has been visited by more than 25.000 (!) people. As such, the Gouda Ceramics Festival is one of the major public attractions in the western part of the Netherlands in the field of ceramic art.

The organisation of the Festival is in the hands of the Gouda Keramiekstad Foundation. Major sponsors are a.o. the City of Gouda and the Ceramics Training Institute SBB Gouda. The SBB is the only institute in The Netherlands, offering a three-year practical training in ceramics craftsmanship