Glass Art is an ancient craft and a heritage industry but when Sam Herman opened The Glasshouse in 1969, British Studio Glass exploded into the international contemporary art scene and garnered avid collectors internationally. Today, with the pandemic shutting galleries and places to learn or apprentice in kiln cast glass dwindling, the medium in the UK is due a renaissance.
In setting up the Glass Lab, The Glass Foundry want to create a school of glass alchemy that fosters diversity, innovation and collaboration. We want to revive the spirit of The Glasshouse for the BLM generation: ensuring that the line of mastery is not only unbroken but also multiplies and embeds in diverse ethnicities. We want to shift the cultural ecology of this artform to reflect more equity, inclusion and diversity. We also want to support women to positions of leadership in the field.
We are looking for…
Creatives who wish to innovate and experiment in glass in a collaborative and diverse professional studio environment.
We are in especially interested to receive applications from minority groups.
You will already have at least some knowledge or experience of working in glass or be an emerging or established artist, designer or architect who is curious about exploring potential applications of kiln cast glass in your current practice.
Why?
Glass, a unique and curious material, works in many forms from sculpture to vessels from architecture to furniture and lighting
Glass can also be a very expensive art form. Purchase of raw materials, access to professional equipment and guidance from skilled makers is beyond the reach of many aspiring creatives. This can limit risk taking in creative applications and stifle ambition and originality.
Aspiring creatives can struggle to find opportunity to access professional studios to continue their practice and artists have over the years, for the factors mentioned above, abandoned the medium. No more. The renaissance starts here!
What is on offer?
You will also receive
What we expect from our creatives in residence?
“The Glass Foundry while celebrating diversity recognises that historic prejudices have created a society where systemic barriers to the inclusion of ethnic minorities and women remain. We are committed to confronting these inequalities. This means having the difficult conversations necessary to ensure that we de-colonise ourselves, the arts and our institutions. We also recognise that biases are part of all our conditioning and as such we bring compassion and understanding to this process.”
Note on COVID
We will do our utmost to be flexible around the schedule of the residencies so that they can be completed despite the sporadic restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
We will request that successful candidates take a COVID test before beginning their residency. Although we wish to encourage collaboration between artists we will also adhere to social distancing and hand washing requirement and the disinfection of workstations between users.
Application Procedure
1st December 2020 - OPEN
28th January 2021 - Deadline for all applications
29-30th January 2021 - Shortlisted applicants notified
1st - 4th February 2021 - Online Interviews
5th February - Successful Applicants Notified
8th February 2021 – Unsuccessful applicants notified.
Spring/Summer 2021 residencies begin.
Due to government restrictions we have extended the original residency period.
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