The exhibition at the Princessehof exposes the downside of ceramic production, including the extraction of raw materials, throwaway culture, and the impact on the climate crisis, while raising questions: should we continue making new ceramics? And if so, how can this be done in a sustainable way?
The three-part exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the history, impact and potential future of ceramics, using the coffee or tea cup as a storytelling device. The first part features Lab AIR’s Smogware project.
Smogware
This collaborative project features porcelain tableware glazed with particulate matter gathered by local residents in various cities, turning each piece into a ‘conversation starter’. Through this approach, the designers make the invisible traces of air pollution tangible and highlight how ceramics can contribute to raising awareness of our shared responsibility for the environment.
From 16th-century porcelain to IKEA mugs
The second part of the exhibition explores the historical development of ceramics. Four cups, ranging from 16th-century Chinese porcelain to the familiar IKEA mug, offer insight into the production methods, working conditions and environmental impact through the centuries. Lab AIR links these stories to a graphic layer that illustrates the footprint and logistics. This reveals how craftsmanship, industry and economic systems are linked to social inequality and environmental impact.
Contemporary makers
The third part of the exhibition focuses on contemporary makers. They present ceramics made from recycled porcelain, locally sourced clay and unfired pottery, demonstrating alternative approaches that prioritise the responsible use of raw materials and care for both people and the planet. The museum and Lab AIR demonstrate that ceramics are not only part of our heritage, but also a means of discussing social issues. Featuring work by, among others: Alternative Ceramics Supply (Australia); Hannah Rose Whittle and Benedetta Pompili from the Rijksakademie Tech Fellowship Programme, supervised by Marianne Peijnenburg, Amsterdam; Studio Lotte Douwes, Rotterdam; and Fabrikaat, Nijmegen.
Lab AIR
Lab AIR is a research and design studio founded by social designer and architect Iris de Kievith and designer and PhD researcher Annemarie Piscaer. They work on projects aimed at raising awareness of complex issues such as air quality, while also inspiring change towards a healthier future. To achieve this, they initiate their own projects and collaborate across disciplines, working with designers, artists, chefs, scientists and craftspeople. The projects actively involve the public in the creative process, presentations and discussions.
Sustainability at the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics
The Princessehof is the Netherlands’ national ceramics museum, housed in an 18th-century city palace in Leeuwarden, the birthplace of M.C. Escher. The museum has an internationally renowned collection featuring masterpieces from both Asia and Europe, and organises high-profile exhibitions that present ceramics in a contemporary context.
Sustainability plays a key role in this approach: existing display cases are repurposed and circular choices are made for exhibition and printed materials. There is an internal Green Team within the organisation that continuously proposes circular and environmentally friendly initiatives and alternatives. The theme of sustainability is given extra emphasis in the international exhibition series Sustainable Ceramics.
With exhibitions in 2023, 2025 and 2027, this three-part Sustainable Ceramics series, curated by Dr. Wendy Gers, curator of modern and contemporary ceramics, examines the sustainability of raw materials, methods, usage, and recycling:
Sustainable Ceramics #1: Recycled, Repaired, Reactivated
23 November 2023 to 3 November 2024
Sustainable Ceramics #2: Investigating a footprint
22 November 2025 to 25 October 2026
Sustainable Ceramics #3 focuses on ceramics as a means of building resilient communities and will be on view from November 2027 to October 2028.
With thanks to the Mondriaan Fonds and Stichting Van Achterbergh-Domhof
The exhibition is made possible in part through loans from, among others, the Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Gemeentemuseum het Hannemahuis, Harlingen, Centre Céramique, Maastricht, and Tracé, Limburgs Samenlevingsarchief, Maastricht.
Partners: Ottema-Kingma Foundation, Association of Friends of the Princessehof Museum of Ceramics, and Club Céramique.
The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics is co-funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Municipality of Leeuwarden.
