Fondazione Officine Saffi is pleased to announce the finalists of the Officine Saffi Award - Forms of Belonging.
Selected from more than 1,000 applications received from 41 countries across five continents, the 28 finalists will be presented in the exhibition Forms of Belonging, on view at Fondazione Officine Saffi in Milan from September 30 to November 13, 2026.
The selected works explore the human need to belong, revealing how the material world can become a space of recognition, foster a sense of proximity, and make us feel part of a shared human community. Through its intimate, everyday, and relational nature, ceramics emerges as a particularly powerful language for this exploration. Each ceramic work carries forward gestures, relationships, and memories, transforming matter into a site where individual and collective experiences accumulate and endure.
Bringing together contemporary artistic research, craft-based practices, and collectible design, the exhibition moves across the shifting boundaries between these fields. Across the selection, traditional techniques and practices coexist with experimental processes, while functional pieces, sculptures, installations, and narrative devices reveal the breadth of contemporary ceramics.
The selection also reflects the intergenerational character of the international scene, bringing together artists and makers at different stages of their careers. The youngest finalist is 28 years old and the oldest is 74, creating a dialogue between emerging perspectives, established practices, and different forms of knowledge.
THE FINALISTS
Marten Anderson (Germany)
Mel Arsenault (Canada)
Arun Baburaj (India)
Jonathan Baldock (United Kingdom)
Gianluca Brando (Italy)
Phoebe Collings-James (United Kingdom)
Tomás Díaz Cedeno (Mexico)
Andile Dyalvane (South Africa)
Mak Gerald (Hong Kong)
Sean Gerstley (USA)
Benedikt Hipp (Germany)
Cody Hoyt (USA)
Samantha Kerdine (France)
Pan Loong (China)
Corwyn Lund (Canada)
Agalis Manessi (Greece)
Takumi Morozumi (Japan)
Antoine Moulinard (Belgium)
Bisila Noha (Spain / Equatorial Guinea)
Trude Westby Nordmark (Norway)
Ornaghi & Prestinari (Italy)
Marta Pierobon (Italy)
Yaerin Pyun (Republic of Korea)
Coline Rosoux (France)
Christie Soledad (Chile)
Emily Stapleton – Jefferis (United Kingdom)
Krzysztof Strzelecki (Poland)
Flavia Vieira (Portugal)
JURY • Massimo De Carlo, Founder of MASSIMODECARLO • Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, President of Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo; • Marco Sammicheli, Design Curator and Editor; • Asad Syrkett, Head of Editorial Content at Architectural Digest Italia; • Jennifer Lee, artist and potter; • Valentina Ciuffi, curator and creative consultant; • Laura Borghi, President of Fondazione Officine Saffi; • François Mellé, Executive Director of Fondazione Officine Saffi.
MAIN PRIZE €10,000
INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY PRIZES The Officine Saffi Award seeks to foster dialogue between individuals, communities, and geographically distant contexts. This commitment is reflected in the Foundation’s collaborations with leading international cultural institutions, which offer selected artists the opportunity to expand their research and further develop their practice through dedicated residency programmes.
The institutions hosting the recipients of the 2026 Residency Prizes are: • Albuquerque Foundation, Portugal • Bruckner Foundation Ceramic Centre, Switzerland • Guldagergaard – International Ceramic Research Center, Denmark • Fondazione Museo della Ceramica di Savona, Italy • Senter for Keramisk Kunst, Norway • Taoxichuan Art Center, China • Fondazione Officine Saffi, Italy
The residency programme extends the Award beyond the exhibition itself, creating opportunities for research, exchange, production, and sustained engagement with different artistic and cultural environments.
YOUNG ARTIST PRIZE The sixth edition of the Award also introduces the Young Artist Prize, an acquisition prize dedicated to artists under the age of 35 and made possible through the support of Ottostumm | Mogs. The prize is intended to support emerging practices and to accompany a new generation of artists at a pivotal stage in the development and recognition of their work.
EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Officine Saffi Award 6 — Forms of Belonging September 30 – November 13, 2026
Opening Preview: September 29, 2026, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Prize Ceremony at 7:30 PM By invitation only. A digital invitation will follow.
Fondazione Officine Saffi Via G.B. Niccolini 35A 20154 Milan, Italy
PARTNERS
Fondazione Culturale Officine Saffi ETS Via G.B. Niccolini 35A, 20154 Milan +39 0236685696
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