The Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA), housed in two gallery spaces on the first floor of York Art Gallery, first opened its doors to the public in August 2015. With around 5,500 pieces made by more than 600 artists, the collection is amongst the largest and most important in the world. The CoCA aims to encourage public understanding and enjoyment of an important but under exposed area of British Modernism. It shows the British studio ceramics movement which began in the early 20th century, historical collections of ceramics dating back to prehistory and extensive archives.

The unique curatorial voice, gained mainly through collections gifted by collectors such as Dan Milner-White, Ismay and Henry Rothschild and a recent long term loan of The Anthony Shaw Collection, allows for a distinct and rich view of British Modernism. They occasionally host events, learning opportunities, workshops, master classes and talks. Now an integral part of The CoCA, the specialist forum The Contemporary Studio Ceramics Subject Specialist Network (SSN) was launched in 2012.