More than 100 artisans are united in a directory of Valencia's historic ceramics community, which has been compiled by potter Ana Illueca to make the region's craft skills more "visible internationally and accessible locally".
Funded as part of Valencia's designation as World Design Captial for 2022, the Ceramic DNA search engine allows prospective customers and collaborators to find ceramicists in their area based on location and specialisation.
According to Illueca, the project represents the first attempt to map the enduring expertise of the local ceramics community, which has existed for centuries.
Ana Illueca (top image) has developed the Ceramic DNA search engine (above)
"The oldest ceramic fragments found in the area date from 7,000 years ago," she told Dezeen. "Valencia has four ceramic schools and seven ceramic museums. We have the know-how, the suppliers, the raw materials, the industry, the crafts and we have the ceramic talent," she added.
"The map will help make professionals visible internationally and accessible locally. It will help share knowledge amongst ceramicists and with society in general."
The directory maps out 106 ceramicists across Valencia's three provinces
The 106 potters highlighted in the directory hail from all three Valencian provinces and were chosen from 153 applicants by an expert committee led by Jaume Coll Conesa, the director of Spain's National Ceramics Museum.
The aim is to highlight ceramicist...