The General Assembly of the Portuguese Association of Cities and Towns of Ceramics, meeting in Aveiro Friday 14th of January 2022, elected the governing bodies for the next two years, and unanimously approved the membership of the municipality of Fundão as a new member of the Association, passing to 19 Portuguese ceramic cities and towns.
In the opening of the works the Mayor of Aveiro, José Ribau Esteves welcomed those present and affirmed the importance of ceramics in his city, highlighting the activities that develop in particular the International Biennial of Creative Ceramics that is taking place at this time in that city. It also encouraged APTCVC members to increase the importance and visibility of ceramics in Portugal.
In the General Assembly the invited representative of the municipality of Fundão presented the application duly formulated in the statutory terms, explaining the reasons for its intention, since its ancient history with the existence in the region of an important ceramic tradition, especially the parish of Telhado, which was one of the most important pottery centers of Beira Baixa.
As part of a municipal project of the Network of “Rede de Casas e Lugares do Sentir – Casas do Território”, which gave rise to a Unesco Center, it was installed in a former mansion in the village of Telhado the “Casa do Barro”, which benefits from a cooperation protocol with the municipality of Barcelos and the Pottery Museum.
Here it is possible to “see the whole process of pottery, from the extraction of the raw material – clay, to firing and cooling, passing through the time-consuming intermediate phases, especially molding, in which the potter’s hands transform the earth and clay into shapes – vases, pitchers, malgas and also sculptures. Visitors can also see old photographs depicting the time when Telhado was the capital of clay and glimpse the ancient faces and hands that have worked for decades: the stories, the material and photographic memories of this pottery community and its knowledge and production spaces.”
Soon a new General Assembly of APTCVC will be convened to sworn in the new governing bodies and to outline the activities of the Association during the year 2022 and beyond.
In the course of the Assembly by proposal of the bureau was approved a vote of praise with acclaim for the direction of the outgoing Association and for the executive director.
In the afternoon, representatives of the various municipalities participating in APTCVC gave a guided tour of the various exhibitions of the International Biennial of Creative Ceramics of Aveiro, 2021 edition.
