Everyone’s Safety Matters -

Call for Accountability at Clay Gulgong 2026

Clay Gulgong is a landmark event for Australian ceramicists. We implore the Director to fulfil their duty of care and respond to concerns expressed by their delegates and ensure health and safety for all.

Clay Gulgong has long been a landmark event in the Australian ceramics calendar, bringing together artists, educators, and enthusiasts from across the country and beyond. Its influence on the well-being of our ceramics community is significant: the event fosters professional development, creative exchange, and cultural enrichment. With this reach comes an equally significant responsibility to safeguard the health, safety, and dignity of all who participate.

Our Concern

In July 2025, three months after tickets were released and most  ‘Masters’ announced, CLAY GULGONG, an event hosted by Mansfield Ceramics, published a social media post celebrating Eric Landon, aka ‘Tortus’, as a featured ‘Master’ at the event. Landon, an American living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark, has financially exploited studios in the US, Australia, and New Zealand and faces multiple allegations of sexual assault. Many members of the community are concerned about his lack of accountability and the lack of transparency from the organisers, and do not feel comfortable attending the event as a result.

Despite public and private expressions of concern, Director Bernadette Mansfield has been unwilling to engage in dialogue. Even going so far as to say in a public statement, “[Clay Gulgong] do not ‘serve the community’, whatever that means—indeed the demands that [she needs to] ‘consult the community’ is confusing.” 

Mansfield’s choice to platform Eric Landon and her dismissive response to concerns raised are inconsistent with legal and ethical responsibilities to patrons, volunteers, sponsors, and workers, who are deeply invested in the success and continuity of the event.  Further, we are concerned that this behaviour sets a worrying standard for others to follow and erodes opportunities to create cultures of transparency, accountability, and care.

A Duty of Care 

Creating a culture of care is not just an ethical and moral choice at Clay Gulgong; as a for-profit enterprise, it’s also a legal responsibility.

Under the Work Health and Safety Act (NSW) 2011, anyone conducting a business or undertaking must provide and maintain a work environment that is safe and without risks to health, and must consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers who may be affected by safety matters.

OUR REQUESTS:

To preserve the integrity and future of this important event, and demonstrate duty of care to all volunteers, workers, and attendees, we call on Clay Gulgong to:

Remove Eric Landon as a featured ‘Master’, and
Implement clear, published safety and accountability measures, including:

• Provide greater transparency on planning and decision-making processes.
• Documented procedures for assessing and mitigating health and safety risks - including how the organisation consults with stakeholders. 
• Policies for hazard identification, prevention, and response.
• Provide full refunds to any paid participants who no longer wish to attend the 2026 Festival. 

A PATH FORWARD:

Clay Gulgong is a vital platform for Australian ceramics. Workers, volunteers, and attendees of the event are key constituents whose well-being and trust, sustain the festival’s reputation and legacy. By embracing its duty of care and centring the well-being of its community, the festival can continue to inspire and connect artists for generations to come. We urge Mansfield Ceramics to act decisively — a strong community relies on accountability and care.