Event entry is $5 or $15 for families of 4+. Payable on entry via card only or book ahead at the button below.

Some ‘Have a go’ activities are bookable with small fee.

Parking will be limited in the area and we love our neighbours. Park legally and we request you do not park in Watson Shops carpark or other unauthorised parking areas while attending Fired Up. Please consider the following transport options:

Bike or walk: The Canberra Potters | Watson Art Centre is 20min walk from the Phillip Ave tram stop, and a block away from the Northbourne Ave cycle path.

Offsite parking: We have organised offsite parking at EPIC on Old Station Well Drive and a free shuttle bus:

A free shuttle bus will loop between the tram stop at Phillip Ave, Old Station Well Dr parking at EPIC, and Canberra Potters all afternoon.  The first bus will be at 2.45pm from EPIC, last bus will be at 8.30pm from Canberra Potters.

Disability Parking & Access: Limited disabled parking will be available onsite for permit holders. An accessible, onsite drop off zone will operate throughout the event.

Live pottery making demonstrations by exceptional Canberra region artists, including:

• 3.00pm – 3.45pm Alex de Vos: Wheel throwing off the hump
• 3.15pm – 4.15pm Cathy Franzi: Surface decoration
• 4.00pm – 4.45pm Fran Romano: Monoprint techniques on clay
• 4.30pm – 5.30pm Maryke Henderson: Altered forms
• 5.00pm – 5.45pm Jacky Lo: Japanese wooden moulds (kashigata)
• 6:00pm – 6:45pm Chris Harford: Throwing efficiently on the wheel
• 6.15pm – 7 :5pm Malcolm Cooke: Throwing large on the wheel
• 7.00pm – 7.40pm Josephine Townsend: Nerikomi – the beauty of coloured porcelain
• 3.30pm- 6.30pm Abbey Jamieson: Raku Firing on the hour
• 300pm – 7.00pm Jackie Lallemand: Live handbuilt sculpture created throughout the event

Have you ever wanted to try wheel throwing or handbuilding objects and vessels from clay. Get ready to get your hands in clay and to have a play!

Each 20min session will include clay and instruction from an expert teacher.

‘Have a go, have a throw’ – Your chance to try wheel throwing – $10 per person

‘Have a go, handbuild’ – Your chance to try handbuilding – $5 per person

Kids activity

Get creative at our free kids’ clay activity, running throughout the festival. Guided by experienced pottery teachers, young makers can create their own clay creations while adding to a growing community artwork that will evolve over the course of the event. Free drop in activity. No bookings required – just bring your imagination and join the fun!

Discover an inspiring collection of handmade ceramics by talented local and regional makers at the Fired Up Ceramic Artist Markets.

Browse functional tableware, sculptural pieces, colourful homewares and one-of-a-kind works. Meet the artists behind them and take home something truly special.

This year’s stallholders include Ash Green Art, Bendy Pots, Blackburn Studio, ByKate Ceramics, Clay by Ayumi, Curious Squirrel Designs, Fenja T. Ringl, Josephine Townsend Ceramics, Little Tree Studio, Morgan Lee Ceramics, Silent Sea Studios, Therese McMahon Ceramics and We Are Made.

Did you know that Canberra Potters hosts four onsite studios for resident studio artists? Artists have access to purpose built ceramic studios and facilities and are supported to develop their practice.

Come and meet artists AC Parnell, Everything Flows, Isabel Chen, Leah Jackson, Lia Tacjnar and Sarah Brown. Have a sticky beak in their studios, learn about their practice and buy a ceramic work direct from the creator!

Enjoy delicious food and beverages and live entertainment as you soak up the Fired Up! vibes.

Back by popular demand, choose your own handmade soup bowl and have it filled with warming winter soup, or a choose a handmade tumbler to be filled with mulled wine of cider, at our Soup Bowl & Tumbler Fundraiser. After you’ve selected your piece and enjoyed its contents, you can take your new item home with you. Bowls and tumblers have been made by over 30 talented local artists who are also Canberra Potters members, with proceeds going to the artists and to support the staging of Fired Up!

Our wine partners Lerida Estate will be here serving you locally produced, world class wines that represent the unique and beautiful site where they are grow at the foot of the Cullerin Range at Lake George. 50% of proceeds come to Canberra Potters!

A range of other savoury and sweet food and drink options will also be available.

Enjoy live music throughout Fired Up! as talented local performers bring warmth and energy to the festival under the winter night sky.

Nick Rigby
Opening the afternoon with a relaxed mix of indie, soul, R&B, pop and much-loved classics.

Sugar Ray from Sugar & Cream
Bringing the sweet sounds of Pacific reggae, R&B, soul, country and ballads.

Cat Martin of Catastrophe Music
Closing the evening with soulful vocals, acoustic sounds and crowd favourites.

Take in the music as you explore the ceramic market, watch live demonstrations and enjoy the atmosphere of Fired Up!.

Join us for the finale of Fired Up! with a live petal kiln opening and witness the spectacle of ceramic wood firing. At around 8pm, the ‘petals’ of this special in the Canberra Potters grounds kiln will be opened to reveal a glowing ceramic sculpture by artist Gemma Brown.

The petal kiln is a special woodfired kiln, where wood is fed into the firebox at the foot of the kiln over a period of many hours. The walls are made of 8 individual ‘petals’ which are opened like a flower when the kiln reaches its top temperature. That’s close to 1100 degrees Celsius!

The firing and opening of the petal kiln is being supported by our partners Strathnairn Arts and volunteers from the Strathnairn Woodfiring Group.