Held on the last weekend of August 2022 at the cities of Cava de' Tirreni and Vietri sul Mare the Matres international women's ceramics festival, not just an exhibition or competition, but a real path of growth that united the creativity and knowledge of one hundred and seventy women artists from the most diverse places on earth. 

To cap off the event the theme Naturantis, green evolution, circular and sustainable economy and respect for the environment. And here comes back the historical role of women, thaumaturges by nature, they issued a call to weave a new web of society based on new "visions of care." A global stimulus to greater attention to human consciousness and respect for self, others and our unique planet. 

I had the pleasure and honor of chairing the jury for the exhibition VISIONS together with Maria Grazia Gargiulo, curator and art historian, and Nurye Donatoni, director and curator of the MAV - Museo dell'Artigianato Valdostano, we unanimously awarded the first prize to Stefania Spanedda, the second to Dorna Abyak (Iran), the third to Mirang Roh (South Korea), and special mentions to Mara Tonso and Alev Oskay (Turkey). 

Stefania Spanedda (Italy) wins first prize with the work Primordial form, a piece made using the Raku and Naked Raku technique in 2022. We chose this work for its elegance and the sinuosity of this archetypal form. The stylistic essentiality highlights Stefania's deep connection with the material. The golden spiral is the result of excellent technical knowledge and in particular the processes of reduction, the symbolism takes us back to the origin of life and the theme of this year's Festival Matres: Naturantis, the protection of Mother Earth. Its arcane beauty, the silkiness of the surface and the geometric shape that reminds us of the unfolding of a seed, brings us back to the life-generating force, to fertility, to Mother Earth precisely, the symbol of a precious nature to be protected and safeguarded.

The second prize was awarded to Dorna Abyak (Iran) with the work I am where the pain is, a porcelain paperclay piece with mixed clays, a large-scale work that is the result of great technical skill. It reminds us of the physical birthplace of life and its fragility, a basin that brings great joy, but only after labor and pain. The work features an accidental breakage that occurred during its transport and its sewing back together, not the precious kintsugi, but a sewing back together that we might call surgical. It invites us to reflect on the danger of childbirth and shows us the courage and strength that women daily employ in their interceding.

With the third prize to Mirang Roh (Korea) we wanted to reward irony and exquisite Korean taste in illustration. With the composition People who dream the artist took us back to her world of kimonos, beautiful stylized and carved flowers, and cute weathered piglets! Harmony comes from the right balance and relationship with the animal and plant world. 

Special mention to Mara Tonso (Italy) with the triptych Seed container, a material work composed of Castellamonte clays, earthenware, engobes and oxides, takes us back to the primordial uses of ceramics as a crockery and utensil, the connection with the earth as the generator of food, and in particular the seed, the symbol of rebirth.

The award ceremony took place in Vietri sul Mare under the auspices of Campania Regional President Vincenzo De Luca and in the presence of Regional Budget Councillor Hon. Franco Picarone, Regional Vocational Training Councillor Armida Filippelli, Vietri sul Mare Mayor Giovanni De Simone, Salerno CNA President Lucio Ronca, Salerno CNA Director Simona Paolillo, and of course the ever-present and omnipresent Anna Rita Fasano, president of Pandora Association, deus ex machina of the Festival and a great ceramics expert.