A view of The Second Purple Clay Factory Cultural Block in Yixing. [Photo/WeChat account: yixingfabu2015]
The Second Purple Clay Factory Cultural Block in Yixing, a county-level city in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, will invite 24 artists from around the world each year to produce pottery artworks, highlighting the city's long-standing ceramic tradition.
The Second Purple Clay Factory Cultural Block hosts four artist residency programs each year, inviting six artists per session for residencies lasting between 2.5 to 3 months. The first residency spotlights artists Asya Marakulina from Russia and Yang Xinguang from Hunan.
During their stay, the factory provides extensive support, such as free housing, studio facilities, and full living arrangements. This enables artists to fully engage with Yixing's lively pottery scene without distractions.
Asya Marakulina, an artist born in Russia and now living in Vienna, works with diverse media like ceramics, graphic design, textiles, sculpture, and installations. "I hope this residency will bring me a wealth of inspiration and learning opportunities. I am very much looking forward to it," she said. Marakulina discovered the residency program after winning the "Yixing-The Second Purple Clay Factory Cultural Block Ceramic Artist Residency Award" at the second Ceramic Brussels earlier this year.
When she arrived in Yixing, she was immediately drawn to the city's rich ceramic culture. From fences made of ceramics and tiled walkways to detailed ceramic street lamps and clay reliefs in various colors, every detail impressed her. "Ceramics have long been intertwined with every part of Yixing, with each element telling a story of a harmonious relationship with pottery," she said. During her residency, the artist intends to craft a miniature ceramic city inspired by her observations, preserving the essence of Yixing's streets and alleys as artistic symbols in clay. To her, The Second Purple Clay Factory Cultural Block is a source of endless inspiration, providing a peaceful environment for creativity and a lively space for exchange — an ideal setting where art can naturally thrive.
Yang Xinguang, now based in Beijing, focuses on incorporating natural materials such as grass, wood, and stones into his creations. "Interacting with local ceramic artists has been incredibly rewarding," Yang said. "I plan to use gathered twigs, leaves, and weeds to create containers or bases, with the works being made from clay."
The residency program aims to foster diverse ceramic art development and accelerate the international dissemination of ceramic culture. Jacques Kaufmann, the initiator and honorary president of the International Academy of Ceramics under UNESCO, has maintained a close connection with Yixing for nearly 30 years.
Kaufmann emphasizes that Yixing's openness, inclusiveness, and rich ceramic heritage — coupled with ceramics artists' respect for cultural creativity — are crucial for the global reach of ceramics. In 2017, he worked with Chinese ceramic master Jiang Guoxing in Yixing, using a unique ceramic style to highlight the need for interaction, support, reciprocity, and mutual benefit in today's world, promoting ideas of harmony and cooperative growth among nations.
