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There are festivals that showcase artworks. And then there is MATRES, a place where artworks foster encounters, dialogues, and relationships. Conceived and organized by APS Pandora Artiste Ceramiste ETS, the MATRES Festival is now one of the most important international events dedicated to contemporary women’s ceramics. Born from the desire to give voice to the talent, research, and vision of women in ceramics, over the years it has become a cultural laboratory open to the world, capable of connecting artists, institutions, museums, designers, artisans, scholars, and communities through the universal language of clay. MATRES does not merely celebrate ceramics: it celebrates the value of care, memory, sharing, and creativity as tools for dialogue between cultures. It is a festival built on the energy of women, on collaboration, and on the strength of an international network that grows year after year, transforming every gathering into an opportunity for human and artistic exchange.
The 2026 edition, titled CIBUM – Nourishing the Form, Nourishing the Earth, draws inspiration from the ancestral relationship between food and ceramics: two elements that have accompanied human history since its very beginnings. Nourishment thus becomes a metaphor for knowledge, hospitality, identity, and sustainability, while the vessel, the plate, the bowl, and the table speak to the universal need to share, preserve, and pass on traditions. Over 180 female artists from around the world will present more than 400 works, creating a widespread itinerary that winds through some of Campania’s most significant sites, weaving together contemporary art, historical heritage, archaeology, landscape, and the ceramic tradition. Cava de’ Tirreni is the heart of the Festival, with the San Giovanni Monumental Complex and the city’s public spaces hosting exhibitions, competitions, installations, workshops, performances, and events. Vietri sul Mare, the city that symbolizes Italian ceramics, engages with the Festival through its extraordinary artistic heritage. Naples, with the Duca di Martina Museum in Villa Floridiana, hosts an exhibition dedicated to the ritual of tea and the dialogue between East and West. Pontecagnano Faiano, at the National Archaeological Museum “Gli Etruschi di Frontiera,” connects archaeological heritage with contemporary design. Serre–Persano, between the Palazzo Ducale and the WWF Oasis, invites visitors to reflect on the relationship between nature, biodiversity, peace, and sustainability.
International exhibitions, urban installations, participatory performances, workshops, conferences, competitions, social gatherings, and opportunities to connect transform the Festival into an immersive experience that brings together artists and audiences across all boundaries.
Joining MATRES means becoming part of an international community that chooses art as a language of peace, ceramics as a reminder of the earth, and culture as nourishment for the future.
Because every form springs from the earth. Every gesture holds a story. And every encounter can become a seed capable of bringing forth beauty.
Prefestival in Naples – Afternoon & Evening
Cava de’ Tirreni | Vietri sul Mare
Morning – Vietri sul Mare – Workshop & Masterclass
10:00 a.m.
Live Creation & Masterclass: Pinching Sculpture Class & Monumental Work for CIBUM
Teacher: Naidee Changmoh (Thailand). Headquarters: Vietri sul Mare (Raito), Ceramiche Liguori by Lucio Liguori (5 Via San Vito).
Live creation of a monumental sculpture dedicated to CIBUM, donated to the city of Cava de’ Tirreni, and a master class on pinching modeling.
Afternoon and Evening – Cava de’ Tirreni – San Giovanni Monumental Complex
Opening Ceremony – 7:00 p.m.
Official greetings and the official presentation of the 2026 Matres Festival.
Exhibition Openings:
Contemporary dance and live music with Alba Pagano and the artists of the Matres Festival
Vietri sul Mare | Cava de’ Tirreni
Morning – Vietri sul Mare
Afternoon – Vietri sul Mare & Cava de’ Tirreni
Evening – Cava de’ Tirreni
COLLABORATIVE PERFORMANCE OF RELATIONAL ART
CIBUM VIVUM – The Empty Table That Comes to Life
A large workshop table for making functional and impromptu artistic ceramics using both fired and unfired clay.
In the center of Piazza Lentini, a large table takes shape—at first quite simple—set with white ceramic tableware and objects that are yet to be decorated.
Around the dining hall, the artists of the MATRES Festival are engaged in a two-pronged creative endeavor. On the one hand, they decorate plates, bowls, bottles, and other containers, transforming everyday ceramics into unique pieces through colors, patterns, and motifs inspired by the theme of nourishment. On the other hand, they sculpt raw clay live, creating bread, fruit, vegetables, fish, desserts, and other symbolic foods that, one by one, come to adorn the table.
The public also plays a central role in the artwork. Children, families, and visitors are invited to participate by shaping small clay elements that will become part of the collective installation, transforming the creative act into a shared experience.
Over the course of the evening, the table is transformed: from an empty space, it becomes a large, vibrant dining hall, created by the hands of artists and citizens. Every decorated object, every shaped piece of food, and every small contribution tells a story of care, hospitality, and belonging.
The performance celebrates food not only as nourishment for the body, but as a universal language capable of bringing together people, cultures, and generations. Art thus becomes a shared experience, a meeting place where creativity transforms into connection.
At the end of the event, the installation reveals to the public the deeper meaning of the work: the “Empty Table” does not represent what is missing, but rather everything we are capable of giving to one another. Because a table isn't just filled with bread, dishes, or food—it's filled with the hands, stories, and people who, together, choose to set it.
Vietri sul Mare / Pontecagnano Faiano
Location: Vietri sul Mare, Bottega 5 Creative Hub by Mara D’Arienzo (5 Via XXV Luglio), in collaboration with the City of Vietri sul Mare.
Food has never been merely sustenance. From archaeological findings that reveal the dietary habits of ancient peoples, to the Mediterranean Diet—recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage—and on to the works of contemporary female artists, food becomes language, memory, identity, connection, and care. A journey spanning centuries of history that culminates in art as a tool for reflecting on the present and the future.
Serre – Persano
A day immersed in the nature and history of the Serre and Persano region, where the Earth becomes matter, sustenance, and identity; the waters of the Sele River are a source of life; and peace takes shape through art, ceramics, and shared gestures.
Serre–Persano WWF Oasis | Persano Regional State Forest | Serre Ducal Palace
8:30 a.m. – Departure by bus from Cava de’ Tirreni to Serre/Persano.
10:00 a.m. – Serre/Persano WWF Nature Reserve
Discovering Biodiversity and the Otter, edited by Remigio Lenza.
Presentation of PaleoVillage – Argonauta, organized by the Argonauta Association.
12:00 p.m. – Guided tour of the Persano Regional State Forest (Fasce Boscate), led by Adriano Di Biase.
12:30 p.m. – A swim in the purifying waters of the Sele River.
1:00 p.m. – PICNIC AREA, Regional State Forest “Fasce Boscate di Persano”
A Food and Wine Tour of the Mediterranean Diet, with recipes by Rosa Pepe.
5:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. | SERRE – PALAZZO DUCALE
The Earth Becomes Peace
Institutional greetings
Workshop & Performance “Creating the Doves of Peace”
A workshop open to international female artists participating in the MATRES Festival and the Laboratorio Creta in Serre, to create—through ceramics—a universal symbol of peace. The workshop is open to the public!
Musical accompaniment
Presented by the students of the “Sorrisi e Musica” accordion school in Serre, directed by Vito Pierro.
Food and Wine Tour – “Colombe | Nurturing Peace”
A festive feast hosted by the City of Serre, celebrating the flavors and culinary excellence of the region. A moment of gathering and sharing in which the earth that nourishes us becomes food, the earth that is shaped becomes pottery, and pottery becomes a message of peace.
Cava de’ Tirreni – San Giovanni Monumental Complex
