We started attending the GAS in 2007. If you have the time and energy make this one of your vacation experiences for 2017 and beyond.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INTERNATIONAL GLASS ART CONFERENCE BRINGS EXCITING EVENTS,
ACCLAIMED ARTISTS TO CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART IN JUNE— The 46th Annual Glass Art Society Conference invites public to enjoy demonstrations, gallery hop and more —
March 13, 2017 - The Chrysler Museum of Art and the Perry Glass Studio will host the
46th Annual Glass Art Society (GAS) conference from June 1–3, welcoming international leaders in the contemporary glass community to Hampton Roads for a weekend of innovative performances.
The 2017 conference, “Reflections from the Edge: Glass, Art, and Performance,” invites attendees to experience technical glass demonstrations; lectures on science and art; regionwide exhibitions; and special events. Several events are open to the public, including free demonstrations on the pre-conference Day of Glass, a gallery hop in the NEON Arts District, the Goblet Grab, an International Student Exhibition and live and silent auctions.
The conference features presentations from industry leaders in a variety of glass disciplines, including demonstrations of new techniques in hot glass, coldworking and flameworking.
Artist
Mark Dion will deliver the keynote address, “Adventures in the Culture of Nature,” on Thursday, June 1. Dion’s work explores the ways in which public institutions and dominant ideologies shape understanding of history, knowledge and the natural world. His work is held in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Gallery in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, among others. He is a mentor at Columbia University in New York and co-director of
Mildred’s Lane, an innovative art education and residency program in Beach Lake, Pa.
Two artists will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the development of glass worldwide. Joyce J. Scott will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contributions to the Studio Glass Field. Scott constructs sophisticated bead sculptures incorporating glass, clay, fabric and found objects that address social topics, including racism, violence and gender inequality. In her home city of Baltimore, Scott is an active leader promoting creative spaces for the community. In 2016, she received a prestigious
MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award,” a five-year grant intended to provide recipients with flexibility to pursue their work.
Wayne Strattman will receive the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award for Outstanding Service to the Glass Art Society. Strattman is the owner of the Boston-based Strattman Design, a world leader in building museum displays, custom sculpture and innovative lighting products. Through his involvement in GAS, he initiated and endowed the Strattman Critical Dialogue Lecture Series, co-funded the Technology Advancing Glass (TAG) grant program and started and helped to maintain neon exhibitions at GAS conferences since 1997.
The Chrysler Museum of Art’s glass collection is encyclopedic, containing more than 10,000 works from every era of glassmaking. In 2011, the Museum opened its Glass Studio, which quickly earned acclaim for its monthly Third Thursday theatrical glass performances. The Museum’s selection as host of the 2017 conference further cements the Chrysler’s reputation as a destination for artists and patrons. The Chrysler Museum was selected after an international competition for the honor of hosting the conference. It also marks a return to the region where the country’s first glassmaking took place in Jamestown.
The 2017 GAS conference is co-chaired by Diane Wright, the Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass; Charlotte Potter, Manager and Programming Director of the Perry Glass Studio; and community volunteers Virginia Hitch and Colin McKinnon. Attendees are encouraged to share their experiences on social media with the tag #GASNorfolk. To register to attend and for more information, click
here.
Public Events:Free, unless otherwise noted
“Play Me, I’m Yours” by Luke JerramMay 23–June 4, Downtown Norfolk and the NEON Arts DistrictLocated on streets in downtown Norfolk, pianos invite passersby to play and enjoy. The pianos will be decorated by local artists and community groups, encouraging an opportunity for people to connect. For more information, see
www.StreetPianosNorfolk.com.
Day of GlassWednesday, May 31, NEON Arts DistrictDay of Glass showcases one-of-a-kind, live glassmaking demonstrations:
11 a.m. Chrysler Museum Curator of Exhibitions Seth Feman leads a gallery talk exploring the exhibition
Pilchuck Prints1 p.m. The Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio Team (at the Glass Studio, 745 Duke St.)
2 p.m. The Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass Roadshow, a new, updated mobile hot shop
(in the Glass Studio Parking lot, 745 Duke St.)
3 p.m. Tidewater Community College’s Three-Ring Circus
(in the parking lot east of 128 Granby St., near Glass Wheel Studio).
4 p.m. The Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio Team (at Work│Release, 759 Granby St.)
22nd Annual Goblet GrabFriday, June 2, 12:30 p.m. at Norfolk Waterside Marriott, 235 E. Main St.The Goblet Grab, a longstanding GAS Conference tradition, invites artists to donate a handcrafted goblet, mug, tumbler or drinking glass. Participants position themselves near the vessel they hope to get their hands on first in order to add it to their collection. Prices for the artworks at this fast-paced event range from $50–$200. Proceeds support the GAS Special Project Community Partnership Fund.
First Friday and Gallery HopFriday, June 2, 6–11 p.m. throughout Downtown Norfolk, the NEON Arts District and Olde Towne PortsmouthThe public is invited to take a self-guided tour of special exhibitions in downtown Norfolk featuring artists from the Washington Glass School, the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio Assistantship Program, the Virginia Glass Guild and the Glass Art Society. Ride the ferry to historic Olde Towne Portsmouth and visit the Visual Art Center at Tidewater Community College and Portsmouth Cultural Art Center. In addition, pianos will beckon players on the sidewalks around the city as part of artist Luke Jerram’s “Play Me, I’m Yours” installation.
Live and Silent AuctionsPreviews: Friday, June 2, 5:30–7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 3, 1:30–5 p.m.Silent Auction: First table closes Saturday, June 3 at 5:15 p.m.Live Auction: Saturday, June 3, 6–7 p.m.The silent and live auctions present a perfect opportunity to take home amazing work created by GAS presenters and members—some of the world’s leading artists in the medium—while supporting the organization at the same time. Phone bids are welcome. The auction catalog and bidding instructions at
www.glassart.org.
ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART
The recently expanded Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, is one of America’s most distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than 30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of this collection was given to the Museum by Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum in 1971. In the years since Chrysler’s death in 1988, the Museum has dramatically extended its campus and developed new ties with the Norfolk community. It now has rapidly growing collections, especially in American art, photography, and contemporary art, including glass. The Chrysler also mounts an ambitious schedule of visiting exhibitions and educational programs and events each season.
In 2011, the Chrysler opened a full-service glass studio with a 560-pound capacity furnace, a full hot shop, a flameworking studio, nine annealing ovens, a flat-glass shop, and a coldworking shop. In addition, the Chrysler administers two Federal-period historic houses in downtown Norfolk: the Moses Myers House and the Willoughby-Baylor House.
The Chrysler Museum of Art, One Memorial Place, Norfolk, and Perry Glass Studio, adjacent to the Museum at 745 Duke St., are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Historic Houses on E. Freemason Street are open weekends. General admission is free. For more information on exhibitions, events, and programs, visit
www.chrysler.org or call (757) 664-6200.
ABOUT THE GLASS ART SOCIETY
The Glass Art Society, headquartered in Seattle, is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1971 to encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts, and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass. It holds an annual conference, publishes the Glass Art Society Journal and provides online versions of GASnews and the Glass Art Society Online Member Directory featuring member profiles with image gallery, bio and more.
GAS strives to stimulate communication among artists, educators, students, collectors, gallery and museum personnel, art critics, manufacturers and all others interested in and involved with the production, technology and aesthetics of glass. We are dedicated to creating greater public awareness and appreciation of the glass arts. For more information on the Glass Art Society, visit
www.glassart.org.
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For more information, interview assistance, or a high-resolution image suitable for publication, please contact Amber Kennedy at The Meridian Group at (757) 340-7425 or
amber@themeridiangroup.com . For more information on the Glass Art Society, contact Erika Enomoto at (206) 382-1305 or
