ORGANISERS hope to put Staffordshire firmly back on the global map as the centre of the world of ceramics with a groundbreaking five-year programme of events.

More than £200,000 is being ploughed into the new British Ceramics Biennial (BCB) by North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership in the hope it will create jobs, attract tourists and revitalise the ceramics industry.

The first 10-week festival will be held from October 3 to December 13 next year, with similar events following in 2011 and 2013.

During the months in between, BCB will commission ceramics designers to build experimental art pieces in public spaces, take artists into workplaces and schools and help launch nine new ceramics-based small businesses.

For three months from June 2009, international artists will be invited to Stoke-on-Trent to create work for the festival's exhibitions.

The festival replaces the Stoke-on-Trent Ceramic and Design Festival, which was held over two days every two years since 2004 and last year attracted around 10,000 people.

A company called A Fine Line: Cultural Practice has been brought in to run the festival, which was launched last night with an exhibition at the Aynsley China Factory in Longton.

Barney Hare Duke, co-director of the programme, said: "Stoke-on-Trent is already the home of British ceramics and our ambition is to make the city synonymous with being a centre of excellence.

"The festival will draw in investment for artists and the city. It's something completely new and very exciting."

The programme kicks off in January with Guerilla Ceramics – experimental ceramics installations in public buildings and open spaces.

Cash prizes will be available for designers of up to £20,000.

Mark Nixon, of ceramics designers Glazed Art at Trentham Gardens, said: "The industry is reforming and I hope this amazing festival will bring it to the attention of more people."

Elected mayor Mark Meredith said: "We need to make the most of our cultural past and find new ways of generating employment.

"It's also about seeing how the industry has moved on. It's not just cups and saucers now, it's using the latest technology to manufacture medical equipment and aircraft protection."

Councillor Hazel Lyth, the city council's portfolio holder for enterprise and culture, said: "This will bring tremendous focus on the ceramics industry and help people remember it is not just a glorious past.

"We still have the creative gene in the city and lots of very diverse ceramics businesses."