Fire & Form
Avramilia, Kavala
Ceramic mentorship inside a working studio. Two generations, two kilns, ten days. Raku, saggar, obvara and high-temperature firing at 1200–1220°C in Northern Greece.
INFORMATION
LOCATION
Village of Avramilia, Kavala — Northern Greece, 10km from the city centreDURATION
10 days (9 overnight stays)DISCIPLINES
Alternative firings: Raku · Saggar · Obvara — Contemporary ceramics: High temperature firing 1200–1220°CPRICE
€2,490 per person✓ 10kg stoneware clay per artist + all tools, glazes and kiln access includedCLAY & MATERIALS
MAX CAPACITY
7 artists per periodCRECTIVE COORDINATOR
Kostas Karakitsos & Stratos Karakitsos — ceramicists based in KavalaACCOMONDATION
Stone Villas of Avramilia — private rooms with shared kitchen and living roomMEALS
✓ Lunch included daily (13:00–14:00) — breakfast and dinner not included (kitchen available)TRANSPORT
✓ Airport pickup from Kavala airport included — ✗ flights not includedEXCURSION
✓ Full-day excursion to Old Town of Kavala and the Archaeological Museum (entrance ticket not included)FINAL EXCIBITIONS
✓ Group exhibition of works produced during the residency, in Kavala cityRolling applications around the yearAPPLICATIONS 2027
The Place
The studio sits in Avramilia, a village on the outskirts of Kavala. Two kilns — one gas, one electric. A slab-building bench Kostas designed in 1994 and still uses. Workspace for seven ceramicists at a time. Windows on three sides. A courtyard for the raku firings.
Kostas Karakitsos built the studio in 2009, after twenty-three years of practice in the city. His son Stratos joined him professionally in 2010, and today divides his time between the studio and a doctorate on early Islamic ceramics at Aristotle University.
The studio has hosted three international ceramic symposiums since 2009, with alumni from Slovenia, Turkey, Korea, and Thailand. What we run here is a smaller, more focused continuation of that work — closer to the studio, closer to the fire.
Avramilia.
Ten minutes from the sea.
actually look like Studio hours 09:00–17:00 · Lunch at the studio 13:00
Hotel check-in. Lunch at the studio. Introductory conversation, technical overview, and a walk through the space.
Object construction begins and continues. Each ceramicist works at their own rhythm under the guidance of Kostas and Stratos.
Last day of construction. Refinement of forms before pieces move to drying.
Pieces dry under supervision. Bisque firing begins — the first pass through the kiln.
Raku, saggar, or obvara firing. An unexpected shift — a taste of what fire can do beyond the high-temperature kiln.
Colour, decoration, and the electric kiln for the final high-temperature firing at 1200–1220°C.
Full-day visit to the Old Town of Kavala and the Archaeological Museum.
The moment the work reveals itself. The kiln opens in the morning. Group exhibition in Kavala in the evening.
Morning departure. You leave with your fired work, a digital archive of the residency, and a practice extended by ten days inside a working studio.
What you get
Clear about what's included — and what isn't
✓ Included in the fee
✓Full studio access
09:00–17:00 every day of the residency, with both kilns available
✓10kg stoneware clay per artist
Plus all glazes, oxides, slips and firing materials
✓Both kilns & fuel
Gas kiln for high-temperature firing (1200–1220°C) and electric kiln
✓Lunch at the studio daily
Prepared on site, 13:00–14:00
✓Accommodation
Stone Villas of Avramilia — private room with shared kitchen and living room
✓Airport pickup
From Kavala airport on arrival day
✓Kavala excursion
Full-day visit to the Old Town and the Archaeological Museum (museum ticket not included)
✓Closing exhibition
Group exhibition of works produced during the residency, in Kavala city
✓Digital archive
Publication of all work produced during the residency
✗ Not included
✗Flights & travel to Kavala
Participants arrange their own journey to Kavala
✗Travel & medical insurance
Participants must arrange their own coverage
✗Breakfast & dinner
Fully equipped kitchen available in the villa, or nearby Mediterranean restaurants in Kavala
✗Additional clay
Beyond the 10kg included per participant
✗Museum entrance ticket
For the Archaeological Museum excursion
✗Climate Crisis Tax
€3 per night, paid locally at accommodation
Father and son.
Born and based in Kavala. Two mentors, two generations of the same practice. What Kostas has built over forty years, Stratos has extended into contemporary academic and international ceramics. You will work with both, throughout the residency.
Born in Kavala in 1956. Opened his first studio in 1986 with solo exhibitions across Greece, Japan, Germany, and Australia. His practice moves through four distinct series — Spiritual Contacts, Travelers, Women, and his current body Swirls. Member of the International Academy of Ceramics since 2025. Documented in the anthology 500 Figures in Clay.
karak.gr →
Born in Kavala in 1989. Working professionally in contemporary ceramics since 2010 alongside his father at the Avramilia studio. Participates in international symposiums across Turkey, Croatia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Recent exhibitions at METS Arts Centre Athens and the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. PhD candidate at Aristotle University researching Islamic ceramics and lustre pottery.
"You are not learning a technique. You are entering a practice that has been passed forward once already."
Dates & Availability
2027 Schedule
Two periods per year. Same programme, same mentors. Choose the one that fits your calendar.
Arrival
Departure
Availability
Available
Available
1 March 2027
29 March 2027
10 March 2027
7 April 2027
Before you arrive
-
No formal education is required. You should be comfortable with the basics — hand-building, wheel work, or both — and confident enough to spend eight hours a day at the bench. Ceramicists of all levels are welcome, from emerging practitioners to established ones.
-
10kg of stoneware clay per participant is included, along with all glazes, oxides, slips and firing materials. If you require additional clay beyond that, it is available at extra cost. Bring any personal tools your practice requires.
-
On Day 6, the program shifts from high-temperature work to an alternative firing session — raku, saggar, or obvara. It's designed as a contrast to the primary focus, giving you a taste of a different relationship with fire before the final kiln firing
-
On Day 9, the kiln opens and the work goes on group exhibition in Kavala. You take your pieces with you on departure. A digital archive publication of all work produced during the residency is included in the fee.
-
If the program is cancelled by Eutopia, all advance payments are refunded in full. If a participant cancels, advance payments are non-refundable unless the place is filled by another artist from the waiting list. Full terms are set out in the residency agreement sent with your acceptance letter.
Write to us directly — we respond personally.
Fire, clay, two mentors, ten days.
This is a working studio. What you leave with depends on what you bring — but the fire, the clay, and the two generations of practice are yours.
Apply Now ↗