Kaytea Budd-Brophy’s five-week artist residency at University of Staffordshire is a part of an ongoing partnership with the British Ceramics Biennial (BCB).
She is one of four artists awarded the Fresh Talent Prize at the 2025 British Ceramics Biennial – the single largest contemporary ceramics event in the UK – with each prize including an artist residency at a leading academic and cultural institution.
Selected by a panel of advocates for contemporary art and making, the four prize winners were chosen from BCB’s Fresh exhibition, which celebrates artists at a launch moment in their practice, championing artistic discovery and the courage of new beginnings.
During her residency, supported by MA Ceramics Course Leader Alison Rafferty, Kaytea is using the University's renowned specialist facilities to scale up her work while drawing inspiration from the region’s heritage. The residency arrives at a resonant moment: in 2025, Stoke-on-Trent celebrated its centenary and was named a World Craft City.
Kaytea brings an unusually rich set of perspectives to her ceramic practice. Trained originally in textile design, Kaytea has more than 20 years’ experience teaching in Further and Higher Education.
She is also a trained person-centred counsellor and a senior manager at Leaders Unlocked – a not-for-profit social enterprise that enables young people and underrepresented groups to influence decision-making in policing, education, health, and criminal justice.
Her ceramics are rooted in the many facets of the human condition: in resilience, fragility, and the different paths each life takes.
“I really want to make the most of every moment here,” she said. “I’m very honoured to receive this opportunity in the heart of the Potteries, where there is so much history. I want the work that I produce here to have the handprint of Stoke-on-Trent on it.
“There are parts of the city which are broken down, and there are factories with discarded moulds and discarded pottery. It connects with my work, which is all about the human condition – about building resilience and holding ourselves together, and how our life's journeys are all different. So, through the decoration, I'm going to add elements of well-known Staffordshire designs in my own way.”
Clare Wood, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of BCB, said: “University of Staffordshire's deep roots in the ceramics heritage of this city make it uniquely placed to support an artist like Kaytea to take creative risks and produce ambitious new work. We look forward to seeing that work presented at the 2027 Biennial.”
Neil Brownsword, Professor of Ceramics at University of Staffordshire, added: “Supporting artists at this stage in their careers is essential to the future of ceramics.
Residencies like this provide the time, space and technical support needed to take creative risks, and Kaytea is making full use of that opportunity.
“Just as importantly, her openness in sharing her process with our students creates a valuable exchange that enriches both her work and their learning.”
As well as developing her own practice, Kaytea has been delivering a series of artist talks and masterclasses for BA (Hons) Product, Furniture and Ceramics and MA Ceramics students.
“I love exploring what people are doing in their own practice and enabling them to push their work further forward,” she commented. “It’s been great to meet the students and hear about what they're working towards.”
MA Ceramics student Lucy Lee said: “Kaytea has been really open and enthusiastic. Some of the tips she's given us – especially about throwing off the hump, which we've never done before – have been really useful. Everyone does things differently, so to meet someone with a different skill set that you can bring something from into your own work is brilliant.”
Fellow student Ange Hull joined the MA Ceramics course after working in the industry as design manager at Wedgwood for many years.
“I only found making when I left Wedgwood six years ago. I went to a studio and started to learn how to throw, and I just got the bug,” she explained.
“I've been interested in following Kaytea's path since I saw her work for the first time at the BCB last year. I think that her journey has been really interesting to follow, especially because she started making ceramics later in life, like myself.
“Having an artist in residence here to pass on their knowledge while we are students is invaluable. Hearing from somebody who has risen as an established artist and to see where you can go is very inspirational.”