Apply for Toyama International Glass Exhibition 2027

Glass artists are invited to apply for the next Toyama International Glass Exhibition, which will be held at the Toyama Glass Art Museum in Japan in July 2027.

The exhibition is an international, open-call, triennale established to showcase the latest achievements in contemporary glass art from around the world and contribute to the further development of the field.

Since its inaugural edition in 2018, the exhibition has been held three times. In the most recent edition in 2024, 785 works were submitted from 50 countries and regions worldwide.

The exhibition will spotlight contemporary glass, which has diversified rapidly into a dynamic artform filled with limitless creative potential. The organisers state, “It is our hope that this exhibition will open new horizons for contemporary glass art while also serving as an opportunity for Toyama, known as the ‘City of Glass’, to further establish itself as a global centre for glass art.”

Prizes

Grand Prize: JPY 3,000,000 (about £13,780) (1 work)

Gold Prize: JPY 1,000,000 (about £4,500) (1 work)

Silver Prize: JPY 300,000 (about £1,378) (2 works)

Jury Prize: JPY 100,000 (about £459) (6 works)

It is a condition of the competition that the winning Grand Prize and Gold Prize entries will be donated to the Toyama Glass Art Museum.

Judging panel

Tami Landis, Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass, Corning Museum of Glass (USA); Uta Klotz, Editor-in-chief, NEUES GLAS – NEW GLASS: art & architecture (Germany); Aimee Frodsham, Director of Canberra Glassworks (Australia)

Cho Hyeyoung, Independent curator and Honorary Chairperson, The Korea Association of Art and Design (Republic of Korea); Washida Meruro, Director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; Associate Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts (Japan); and Tsuchiuda Ruriko, Director of Toyama Glass Art Museum (Japan).

There will be two rounds of judging, the first based on submitted images. The selection of 50 works for the exhibition will take place on 20 January 2027, with results announced on the website, and the chosen artists informed.

The second judging will examine the actual works in April 2027 and select 10 prizewinning pieces. These results will be announced on the website in mid-May 2027, and the artists whose works have won prizes will be informed.

The Toyama International Glass Exhibition takes place from 10 July 2027 – 11 October 2027 at Toyama Glass Art Museum (Floor 2-3, Exhibition Rooms 1-3), Toyama, Japan.

The opening ceremony, award ceremony, and private view will be held prior to the opening of the exhibition, on 9 July 2027.

The application deadline is 11 November 2026. There is no submission fee but transport of selected artworks to the venue is the responsibility of the artist.

Find out more and apply via this link.