The Brooklyn Ceramic Arts Tour (BCAT) returns May 28–31, 2026. It brings together artists, studios, galleries and community spaces across Brooklyn for a four-day, self-guided celebration of clay.
BCAT opens doors across the borough for exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, studio tours, artist talks and ceramic sales. The tour highlights Brooklyn’s expanding ceramics scene and provides public access to working studios and creative spaces.
Founded by Jill Bell and co-organized with Nic Newcomb, BCAT launched in 2023 and now enters its fourth year. The initiative builds on earlier Brooklyn Clay Tours held in 2017 and 2018 and continues to focus on promoting Brooklyn as a diverse center for ceramic arts.
Since 2021, 15 new ceramics studios and clay spaces have opened across the borough, reflecting growing interest in hands-on creative practices and shared community environments. Organizers point to a wider cultural shift toward in-person, skill-based activities and away from purely digital forms of recreation, with ceramics studios increasingly functioning as informal gathering places where people can work, learn and connect.
In 2026, more than 200 artists, studios, and local businesses will participate. Programming is organized around themes including education, production, functional design, fine art, innovation and local history, offering multiple entry points for audiences with different levels of experience in ceramics.
Highlights include a pottery fair featuring more than 100 artists at the Old Stone House, live demonstrations across participating studios, a throwing competition, a sustainability-focused panel discussion, a best studio pet contest, and a range of exhibitions and talks held throughout Brooklyn.
BCAT is structured as a collaborative effort among participating artists and studios, designed to support the ceramics community while inviting the public to engage directly with the creative process. It serves as both an arts event and a networking platform, helping to strengthen connections among makers, small businesses, and neighborhood cultural spaces across the borough.
