Dunedin artist Blue Black, one of the finalists, said ceramics thrived in Dunedin because of courses at the Dunedin School of Art.
''It's quite strong down here because it is where people have gravitated to from other regions.''
The first prize in the Portage Ceramic Awards is $15,000. A scholarship to a workshop at Peters Valley School of Craft in New Jersey will also be awarded.
Ceramicist Takeshi Yasuda, of China, will judge the 50 finalists in the competition.
A competition spokeswoman said more than 260 entries were received, the most since the awards' inception in 2001.
Black said he was ''rapt'' to be a finalist again, after being selected in 2006.
For his entry Intersection, he dipped objects in a clay slip - a slurry of watered-down clay.
He dipped discarded items he had found, such as mops and tie-down strapping, in the slip. Through the firing process, the items ''burned out'' and a glazed ceramic casing remained.
The casings were reglazed and fired many times to get opaque and transparent layers.
The process was repeated on artichoke flowers and branches for the two-piece work.
The other Dunedin finalists are Amanda Shanly, Madeleine Child, Peter Henderson, Liz Fea, Dave Sharp, Janeen Greig and Kate Fitzharris.
