In addition to being home to Brazil’s largest laundry, the city of Cunha, in the interior of São Paulo, also holds the title of National Capital of High-Temperature Ceramics. Living up to this distinction, the municipality will host the 2026 Cunha International Ceramics Festival (FICC), an event that brings together artists from around the globe and offers an immersion in cultural activities.
The FICC will take place from May 29 to June 7, taking over various locations throughout the city, which is a 3-hour drive from São Paulo. With a packed schedule, the festival will feature meetings with artisans, lectures by ceramicists, and demonstrations of traditional techniques. In other words: an unmissable opportunity for anyone passionate about art and culture!
What can you expect from the FICC 2026 program?
In this edition, the festival celebrates the ancestral roots of ceramics in Cunha by exploring techniques that draw on the region’s indigenous peoples. The public will be able to attend workshops and lectures featuring leading figures in national and international ceramics, with a focus on local tradition. Additionally, visitors will have access to guided tours and studio visits.
The highlight of the program, however, is the Ceramics Fair, which brings together exhibitors from various regions of Brazil. In addition to offering exclusive pieces, the public can buy directly from the producers, thereby supporting small artisans from across the country.
But the Cunha Ceramics Festival doesn’t stop there! The program also features:
- Direct contact with artists;
- Firing and opening of the noborigama kiln;
- Themed exhibitions;
- Wheel-throwing competitions;
- Live shows;
- Special activities for children.
How did Cunha become the National Capital of Ceramics?
The city’s success began in 1975, when a group of artisans built the first noborigama kiln on Cunha soil. This Japanese high-temperature firing technique soon transformed the region into an artistic hub in the interior of São Paulo.
As a result, Cunha is home t — the largest number of such kilns outside of Japan—making it the leading hub for this technique in Latin America. The city’s prestige has grown so much that, in 2022, the Federal Government officially designated it as the National Capital of High-Temperature Ceramics.
The 2025 edition of the Cunha International Ceramics Festival welcomed over 15,000 visitors. The good news is that you don’t need to be a professional ceramist to participate: the city’s more than 50 studios keep their doors open to enthusiasts and beginners, who will be able to marvel up close at this ancient craft technique.
