Officine Saffi Award 'Forms of Belonging'

The Officine Saffi Award is an international award dedicated to contemporary ceramics, created with the aim of supporting artistic research and promoting the evolving role of clay in contemporary art, high craftsmanship, and collectible design. For its sixth edition, titled Forms of Belonging, the award brings together 28 finalists selected from over 1,000 applications originating from 41 countries across five continents. Their works will be evaluated by an international jury and presented in the finalists' exhibition at Fondazione Officine Saffi in Milan, from September 30 to November 13, 2026. In dialogue with the theme of the open call, the selected works explore the human need for belonging, showing how—in an increasingly hostile social and political climate—the material world can offer a space of recognition, foster a sense of proximity, and help us feel part of a shared human community. Each work preserves and hands down gestures, relationships, and memories, transforming matter into a site for the sedimentation of individual and collective experiences. Bringing together contemporary artistic research, high craftsmanship practices, and collectible design, the selection explores the fluid boundaries between these disciplines.