County Hall Pottery is a groundbreaking initiative that has established London’s historic County Hall as a vibrant ceramics destination.
Our ceramics gallery and pottery studio opened its doors during London Craft Week in 2024. Located on London’s South Bank overlooking the River Thames, County Hall Pottery marks a new chapter in the revitalisation of this historic site.
With a vision to celebrate and support the art of pottery in all its forms, the organisation – which has been funded by County Hall Arts – offers a dynamic range of offerings including rotating exhibitions, pop-up markets, community engagement initiatives and a ‘potter in residence’ programme.
The expansive 1,800 square foot gallery space serves as a hub for ceramics enthusiasts, artists, and the local community alike, while the studio is a space for pottery classes and learning.
Meet the team
Emma Louise Payne
Creative Director
Emma Louise Payne is the driving creative force behind County Hall Pottery. She obtained an MA in Ceramic design in Copenhagen where she learned to push the possibilities of ceramics. Whilst also being an accomplished product designer, Emma’s work investigates and stretches the physical boundaries of material and detail. Bringing her deep knowledge, experience and sensibility that changes not just the visual and tactile surface of the clay, but in many cases enchanting the architectural environment in which it sits. She works from her rural studio surrounded by apple trees near Henley-on-Thames.
Alex Simpson
Studio Director / Head of Programming
Alex Simpson is a British/Austrian Artist who lives and works in London. She graduated with an MA in Ceramics & Glass from the Royal College of Art in 2015. Recent exhibitions include: Loose Ends, Thames Side Studios Gallery London, Undertow Unit 1 Gallery London and Pieces of Earth Taatisten Tila, Finland. This summer she is undertaking a residency at MenLo, Jingdezhen China. She is also a non-executive director of Gaada, a visual arts workshop in Shetland, and an educator in ceramics.
Jihyun Kim
Gallery Assistant
Karin Taylor
Gallery Assistant
Elif Esmez
Technician
Jane Harris
Technician
Yasemin Gava
Artist in Residence
Potter-in-Residence 2024-2025
Heather Gibson
We are delighted to introduce Heather Gibson, our inaugural potter in residence. Heather is a recent graduate from the Royal College of Art and was awarded the Marit Rausing Scholarship for Ceramics & Glass (2024). She combines sculptural hand-building, gestural movement and glaze alchemy – utilising both electric and gas reduction firing techniques to produce her work. Her ceramics have been exhibited by Thrown Gallery and The Leach Pottery.
Heather uses clay as a canvas to explore trace, time, memory and mark-making. Drawing inspiration from geology, archaeology and abstract expressionism, her ceramics serve as portals into the intricate topographies of human memory, and the unseen landscapes concealed beneath the Earth’s surface.
Her method is an assemblage of time, layering individual moments together to gradually construct unique surface narratives. Gestural movement, gravitational force and alchemical transformation are used to navigate the push and pull between time, material and ourselves.
If you'd like to apply for our next potter-in-residence role for 2025-2026, please email studio@countyhallpottery.com.