UNICUM 2026 with a record international participation

For this year’s 6th edition of the UNICUM Triennial 2026, a record 395 artists from more than 50 countries applied. Across three venues in Ljubljana, the exhibition features 170 artists from more than 30 countries. This year’s triennial marks an important milestone: seventeen years after the first edition of UNICUM in 2009, the exhibition of artistic ceramics is, for the first time, joined by an exhibition project of functional ceramic design titled Beyond Use, co-produced with Center Rog.

Director of the National Museum of Slovenia, ddr. Mateja Kos Zabel:
“Some may wonder where the boundary lies between artistic and design ceramics. The members of both organizing institutions, the National Museum of Slovenia and Center Rog, prefer not to speak of boundaries. Contemporary ceramics as a whole is fluid and therefore difficult to frame within any rigid system. Both fields are closely interconnected—just like the exhibitions in the museum and at Center Rog.”

Director of Center Rog, Renata Zamida:
“An important dimension of the exhibition Beyond Use is its connection to the Ceramics Lab at Center Rog and its active user community. The lab functions as a shared production and research space, providing access to tools, technologies, and expert knowledge to a wide range of users—from enthusiasts to professionals.”

From the intimate to environmental and social change

The selection of works for the exhibition at the National Museum of Slovenia was made by three curators: Irene Biolchini (Italy), Danijela Pivašević (Germany), and Alenka Gregorič (Slovenia). Among 255 applicants from 47 countries, who submitted a total of 406 projects, 90 artists from more than 30 countries were selected for the exhibition.

The triennial also includes an international student exhibition featuring ceramics students from Turkey, Germany, and Slovenia, presented at Metelkova. Danijela Pivašević, one of the curators of the student exhibition, also presents her own project at Muzejska.

Also on view at Metelkova is a selection of contemporary ceramic art by the Croatian Association of Artists of Applied Arts (ULUPUH), presenting 26 artists in the exhibition Fragments of Nature. Award-winning works from previous UNICUM triennials are permanently on display there as well.

In September, an exhibition of contemporary ceramic art from Italy will also open at Muzejska.

Dr. Zora Žbontar, Head of UNICUM Project, National Museum of Slovenia:
“The presented works encourage innovation and raise questions about the role of art in times of environmental and social change. The artists either develop their own technological and aesthetic approaches or address the environmental crisis and open up universal, intimate themes of human existence.”

The selection of works for the Beyond Use exhibition at Center Rog was made by an international expert jury consisting of Ann Van Hoey (Belgium), Susanne Joker Johnsen (Denmark), and Rok Oblak (Slovenia). Among 140 applicants from 34 countries, who submitted 218 projects, 60 works by 53 artists from 20 countries were selected.

A special part of the exhibition is the Polish focus titled Forms of Meaning: Contemporary Polish Ceramics, presenting a selection of 13 contemporary Polish artists. The project is curated by Mika Drozdowska, curator of SIC Gallery (specialized in glass and ceramics), operating under BWA Wrocław – Galleries of Contemporary Art. The selection highlights current practices in Polish design and ceramics and opens space for international dialogue, knowledge exchange, and comparison of diverse production, material, and conceptual approaches in contemporary ceramics. The presentation was produced in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (AMI) and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Slovenia.

Anja Radović, Head of UNICUM Project, Center Rog:
“The Beyond Use exhibition and its accompanying programme highlight projects addressing responsible material use, production processes involving new technologies, alternative firing methods, experimental glaze and decoration development, and strategies for reducing or reusing ceramic waste. These approaches also reflect broader institutional goals related to environmental responsibility, circular design, and sustainable production.”

A selection of exhibited works will be available for purchase at a sales event at Center Rog on Saturday, September 5.

A look back at the history of UNICUM

The ceramics triennial was conceived from its very first edition in 2009 by sculptor and visual artist Dragica Čadež Lapajne. For her, clay is a fundamental sculptural material that every sculptor should master. The roots of contemporary ceramics are linked to the “circle of artists” formed after World War II in southern France, particularly in Vallauris. This became a center where major 20th-century artists such as Picasso, Miró, and Chagall gathered. Interestingly, these artists, who greatly enjoyed working with ceramics, were primarily painters rather than sculptors. As Dragica Čadež Lapajne notes, this chapter in southern France marked the beginning of contemporary ceramics, when ceramic objects transcended their purely functional role and became expressions of personal artistic vision.

Dragica Čadež Lapajne:
“The inspiration and model for UNICUM was the International Museum of Ceramics (MIC) in Faenza, one of the most respected institutions in the field, and its founder Gaetano Ballardini. Ballardini deeply understood that art is the pinnacle of human creativity. He included leading artists of his time in his program and surrounded himself with ceramists, artists, and experts open to innovation and experimentation. He closely followed avant-garde movements in painting and sculpture, which significantly influenced the development of ceramics, leading to its great flourishing during that period.”

Opening Days Programme

Locations: National Museum of Slovenia / National Museum of Slovenia – Metelkova; Center Rog

• Thursday, 14 May

11.00 Press conference
Location: National Museum of Slovenia

18.00 Exhibition opening
Location: National Museum of Slovenia, Muzejska 1, Ljubljana

• Friday, 15 May

10.00–12.30 Guided tour with selected artists
Location: National Museum of Slovenia, Muzejska 1, Ljubljana
Location: National Museum of Slovenia – Metelkova, Maistrova 10, Ljubljana

14.00–16.30 Presentation programme of the 6th UNICUM opening days
14.00–15.00 Guided tour of exhibitions: Fragments of Nature, international student ceramics exhibition
15.00–15.20 Ann Van Hoey
15.20–15.40 Irene Biolchini
15.40–16.00 Pia Mršek
16.00–16.20 Bojana Ristevski Mlaker

18.00–19.00 Panel discussion during the opening days of the 6th UNICUM
Contemporary Ceramics – First Panel Discussion
Participants: Mika Drozdowska, Susan Jøker Johnsen, Kristina Rutar
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, conference hall

19.00 Exhibition opening
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, exhibition hall

• Saturday, 16 May

11.00 Guided tour with selected designers
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, exhibition hall

11.00–13.00 Children’s workshop
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, glass annex

11.00–13.00 Tile painting for a community portrait wall
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, glass annex

11.00–12.00 Panel discussion during the opening days of the 6th UNICUM
Sustainability in Ceramic Practice – Second Panel Discussion
Guests: Bartosz Brylewski, Daniela Pivašević, Rok Oblak
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, conference hall

12.00–14.00 Rok Oblak: Extrusion – open intergenerational workshop
Location: Center Rog, 1st floor, glass annex

17.00–19.00 Performance – closing event of the opening days with Daniela Pivašević and students
Location: Cukrarna

The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the National Museum of Slovenia and Center Rog. The visual identity of the 6th International Ceramics Triennial UNICUM 2026 was created by Studio AA – Aljaž Vesel and Anja Delbello – and Studio Kruh – Gregor Makovec.

The Slovene–English catalogue is available at the provided link.