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Venice Glass Week marks 10th anniversary in 2026

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date August 21, 2026

The Venice Glass Week celebrates its tenth anniversary this September with over 200 events taking place across Venice, Murano and Mestre from 12 to 20 September 2026.

This international festival was created to celebrate, support and promote the art of glassmaking. Its 10-year milestone will be marked by the richest programme to date, featuring exhibitions, installations, talks, guided tours, workshops and many other activities.

This edition will also see the presentation of the Observatory ‘The Venice Glass Week and the Murano Glass District’, a study carried out by Banca Ifis, one of the festival’s sponsors, analysing Murano’s current role as a production and cultural district of international significance, and to explore the impact that the festival has had on the city and on the glass sector over its first decade.

Alongside The Venice Glass Week, the fourth light installation exhibition, Murano Illumina il Mondo, will take place from 13 September to 1 November 2026. Under the arches of the Procuratie Vecchie, in the heart of St. Mark’s Square, visitors will be able to admire new, original light installations created by internationally acclaimed artists and designers, such as Norman Foster, Cerith Wyn Evans, Bethan Laura Wood and Pierre Charpin in collaboration with some of the most prestigious Murano glass workshops. The works, designed specifically for this Venetian setting, highlight Murano’s glassmaking tradition and its capacity for creative experimentation.

A significant change this year is the new venue for The Venice Glass Week HUB by Generali, dedicated to artists and designers aged over 35. Thanks to a prestigious partnership with Generali, the exhibition will be hosted at Palazzo Morosini in Campo Santo Stefano. This new collaboration will showcase the works of 50 established and mid-career artists from around the world in a highly evocative Venetian setting.

In addition, the Venice Glass Week HUB Under35, dedicated to emerging young international artists, will be hosted by the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa in the Galleria di Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Square.

The HUBs are group exhibitions featuring artists and designers from Italy and abroad, selected through an open call, conceived to provide an authoritative and multifaceted overview of contemporary research in glass.

British glass artists participating in The Venice Glass Week this year include Elliot Walker (at Galeri Cam on Murano) and Rosie Stonham (as part of the Floating exhibition at Giudecca Palanca, Venice).

Find out more about the event via the website.

The art of making carved stained glass

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date August 13, 2026

Jonathan Soper is one of a few glass artists working with this niche and skilled technique to create glowing, coloured glass panels. Here he describes his inspiration for taking up this challenging approach and outlines his methods.

Is it possible to make stained glass window images by lightening the coloured glass itself, rather than by darkening it with dark oxides, as is done with traditional stained glass windows?

This was the question Rudolf Steiner [who was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer and esotericist who founded Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy that attempts to bridge the gap between science and the spiritual world – Ed.] and friends asked in 1913 when they were considering making large, coloured windows for their new conference centre and theatre auditorium in Dornach, Switzerland. They wanted to show images to do with the spiritual nature of the human being, and how our repeated incarnations and karma are affected by various influences.

Jonathan Soper’s carved glass ‘Christian’s Window’ measures 45 x 70 cm. The carving marks add to the tonality and richness of this piece.

With the then-recent advent of the abrasive material carborundum (silicon carbide) and the electric motor, it had become possible to carve large, 2cm thick, homogenous coloured pot-metal glass sheets of 4m by 1.5m. They found that lightening the coloured glass by carving into it gave a particular luminosity, depth and glowing transparency.

The Goetheanum, as their building was called, contained nine large windows, each of a single colour. These produced strong colour spaces inside, as well as coloured shadows. I believe this was the first time large carved stained glass windows of this type had been attempted.

The Goetheanum auditorium window was carved by Asia Turgeniev to a design by Rudolf Steiner and measures 5m high by 1.5m wide.

Unfortunately, that building burnt down in 1922, but a second Goetheanum was soon built in its place, with similar large (5m by 1.5m) carved windows. I saw these when I was a young man, and I was impressed – to the point that I decided to try some glass carving myself. It turns out it’s not that easy, and there wasn’t really anyone to learn from.

Newly cast glass slabs, ready for carving.

Trying different grinders and grinding wheels with different glasses, I finally came across Hartley Wood dalle de verre slabs whose beautiful colours and fairly stressless glass helped me to get going. Either several dalle slabs can be joined together with resin to form a window sheet, or coloured cullet or slabs can be melted in the kiln to produce sheets of various sizes and thicknesses. The glass sheet is then placed vertically in the studio window, and the design motif is carved into the thickness of the glass using silicon carbide discs on modified small angle grinders. (Diamond wheels on a flexible drive can be used, but that requires water spray to stop the glass overheating.)

‘Rose Cross’ features gold ruby glass.

In addition, a dust extracting system is required (or do it outdoors!). Plus, a good mask and overalls, eye protection, etc. are necessary. It’s noisy, smelly and dusty, and you’ll be hanging on to a machine for hours. It is not exactly therapeutic.

Jonathan Soper fully attired and ready for glass carving in his studio.

As the thickness of the coloured glass is carved into, the hue gets lighter. Also, because of the sculpted shape of the glass surface, it produces highlights and shadows that change as the viewer moves position. The finished, carved window panel is best installed into a window frame protected by clear glass on the outside.

‘The incarnation child’ was made for the Michael Hall Steiner School in Forest Row, East Sussex.

It seems to be increasingly difficult to find good glass for this work, as many excellent glass companies have closed in recent times. Ideally the glass needs to be homogenous and well annealed with no stress in it. Barium crystal, as made by Glasma of Sweden, is excellent, as is lead crystal, which is nice and soft. Ordinary soda lime glass is OK, but not all glasses are equal.

Commissions

Over the decades I have undertaken several commissions, the largest to date being one for the Kulturhus in Ytterjarna, Sweden. There I trained other artists, and we spent nearly two years making 12 carved coloured windows. The largest were 5m x 1.5m and positioned along each side of the beautiful theatre/concert hall auditorium. They had quite light hues, using Linshammar glass made with Glasma batch, coloured with metallic oxides, including two gold ruby windows. This was a wonderful project, with motifs designed by Arne Klingborg (who also celebrated the Anthroposophy perspective), installed in a beautiful building.

Ytterjarna auditorium showing six carved glass panels in the north side wall.

Aside from such projects, I have worked on smaller commissions, and I sell small hanging panels from time to time. I have a small studio in Forest Row, UK, but I’m not good at promoting my work.

An example of a smaller piece of carved stained glass by Jonathan Soper.

By Jonathan Soper

Find out more about Jonathan Soper via his Instagram account: @jonathansglass

Main feature image: ‘Undine’, by Jonathan Soper after Arne Klingborg, is made from Kokomo glass and measures 73cm x 46cm. All images courtesy of the artist.

Apply for Toyama International Glass Exhibition 2027

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date August 9, 2026

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.

Glassworks: Sunderland planning application submitted

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 28, 2026

After months of design work and consultation with artists, makers and creative businesses, Sunderland City Council has received an application to develop the historic former Peter Smith Antiques building in Sunniside into Glassworks: Sunderland, a vibrant hub for glassmaking, ceramics and creative production.

This new project was launched in response to the final closure of the iconic National Glass Centre (NGC) on 31 July 2026, which was strongly criticised and campaigned against by the glass and wider community. The NGC’s owner, the University of Sunderland, cited structural issues, energy inefficiency and a multi-million pound repair bill as reasons that the NGC was no longer financially viable.

Sunderland Culture’s leadership team has said that Glassworks: Sunderland is not a like-for-like replacement for the NGC, but a rescue intervention designed to save the city’s 1,300-year-old glassmaking heritage from disappearing. There will be no café or galleries like the NGC had, but a strong focus on a maker ecosystem.

If planning permission is approved (a formal decision is expected in early autumn 2026), Glassworks: Sunderland will provide specialist facilities, workspaces, learning opportunities and business support for glassmakers and creative enterprises.

The planning application reveals:

The public will be able to access the ground and first floor for classes and activities, but the building is primarily conceived as a space for glassmakers;

Each discipline of glassmaking and ceramics that was available at the NGC will be retained in the new facility;

The building has been designed with equitable access throughout with a lift reaching all floors;

The design retains the historic fabric of the building, with exposed brick, stone staircases and original features from the 19th century Durham and Sunderland County Institute for the Blind;

The upper floors are available for flexible creative offices and maker studios – more studio space is proposed than was available at the NGC;

It will have an energy efficient and decarbonising layout backed by a dedicated on-site substation;

Heat produced from the 1,150^oC furnaces will be recovered to warm the co-working and public spaces.

Tom Billington, Chair of Sunderland Culture, which submitted the planning application, explained: “The submission of our application is a significant milestone for Glassworks: Sunderland and for the ongoing transformation of Sunniside.

“It’s important to stress that local, regional and national artists, makers and creative businesses have played a central role in shaping these proposals through workshops, site visits and surveys. Their involvement has helped ensure the project responds directly to the needs of Sunderland’s creative community while building on the city’s internationally recognised glassmaking heritage.

“The progress made to date is hugely encouraging and demonstrates the ambition, partnership and commitment that exists to make this vision for glassmaking a reality.”

Sunderland-based glass artist Helen Gordon said: “The plans for Glassworks are well considered. They include the vital specialist equipment that glass artists like me need to continue producing work and upholding Sunderland’s global reputation for contemporary glass. By providing a sustainable home for glass and ceramic artists, the facility will help safeguard specialist skills, support local creative industries, and ensure that Sunderland remains a leading centre for contemporary glass for future generations.”

If approved, Glassworks: Sunderland is scheduled to open in 2028, leaving a two-year gap between the closure of the NGC and the launch of the new facilities. In the interim, Sunderland Culture is establishing a transition programme including commissions, business support, residencies, bursaries, commissions, temporary workspaces and activities to maintain artist and audience engagement.

A grant of £5 million towards the project will come from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England. Sunderland Culture is leading fundraising to secure match funding to realise the project.

The Contemporary Glass Society supports the development of Glassworks: Sunderland, to keep the possibility of glassmaking alive in Sunderland, as noted in an open letter, but none of the 204 signatories of that letter agreed with the closure of the NGC that brought this situation about.

See the architect-designed images of the proposed Glassworks: Sunderland via Sunderland Culture.

Image: The former Peter Smith Antiques building where Glassworks: Sunderland will be situated if planning permission is granted.

British Glass Biennale 2026 artists announced for IFOG

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 27, 2026

A total of 82 artists has been selected for the British Glass Biennale 2026 at this year’s International Festival of Glass.

Held at The World of Glass in St Helens, the Biennale will showcase the finest work being made in glass across Britain today, from bold, sculptural statements to delicate, technically intricate pieces, representing the full breadth of what is possible in this endlessly versatile material.

The exhibition opens to the public on Friday 28 August 2026 and runs until 1 November 2026, giving visitors plenty of opportunity to experience one of the most significant events in the British art calendar.

The Biennale is a juried exhibition, open to artists who are British nationals or who are living and working in the UK. Submissions were assessed by a distinguished international panel, including Tami Landis, Curator of Postwar and Contemporary Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass; Jeffrey Sarmiento, Senior Lecturer in the School of Art and Design at Australian National University; and established and awarded UK glass artist Louis Thompson, who has worked with glass independently and collaboratively for over 30 years.

All works in the exhibition are available to purchase, making this a unique opportunity for collectors, institutions, and first-time buyers to acquire exceptional contemporary glass art.

All participating artists have the chance to be selected for the prestigious ‘Best in Show’ award, which is a £3,000 prize. The winner will be announced at a special opening ceremony in St Helens in August.

Participating artists

Anthony Amoako Atttah, Grace Ayson, Emma Baker, Lisa Bate, Heike Brachlow, Mils Bridgewater, Sarah Brown, Steve Brown, Edmond Byrne, Phillipa Candy, Keeryong Choi, Terri Colledge, Mary Corkery, Jeff Cunningham, Rachel Darbourne, Calum Dawes, Christopher Day, James Devereux, Jiayun Ding, Celia Dowson, Sally Fawkes, Elena Fleury-Rojo, Jahday Ford, Zoe Garner, Hannah Gibson, Stephen Gillies, Emma Goring, Lulu Harrison, Crispian Heath, Flora Jamieson, Kate Jones, Joshua Kerley, Hassina Khan, Aria Kiani, Alison Kinnaird, Laura Kriefman, Isabella Kullmann, Monette Larsen, Jon Lewis, Julie Light, Alison Lowry, Geoffrey Mann, Joanna Manousis, Guy Marshall-Brown, Hannah Masi, James Maskrey, Gayle Matthias, Joanne Mitchell, Tracy Nicholls, Michele Oberdieck, Marzena Ostromecka, Marged Owain, Helen Pailing, Jade Pinnell, Stacey Poultney, Verity Pulford, Georgia Redpath, Liam Reeves, Colin Reid, Helen Restorick, Bruno Romanelli, Layne Rowe, Sally Scott, Dian Shi, Amanda Simmons, Elizabeth Sinkova, Suzie Smith, Andrea Spencer, Madison Sprague, Helen Stokes, Alison Stott, Ayako Tani, Angela Thwaites, Jane Vincent, Elliot Walker, Annie Wasdell, Zac Weinberg, Sarah Wiberley, Bethany Wood, Marie Worre Hastrup Holm, Jeff Zimmer and Maria Zulueta.

In addition to the British Glass Biennale 2026, The World of Glass will be hosting the International Bead and Jewellery Biennale, celebrating wearable art at the intersection of glass, jewellery and contemporary craft.

It will also showcase the work of selected Contemporary Glass Society members in the ‘A Cabinet of Curiosities’ exhibition, with pieces in 2D and 3D measuring up to 20 x 10 x 10cm. The show runs from 27 August to 31 October 2026 and includes the creations of makers at all stages of their glassmaking careers in a wide range of techniques. All artworks will be for sale at reasonable prices.

In addition, new organiser of the International Festival of Glass 2026, the Glass Art Society (GAS), has selected work from members around the world for its International Member Exhibition, so visitors will also be able to see glass art from countries including Japan, Mexico, Norway, Australia, Uruguay and Ireland. This show runs from 28 August to 1 November 2026.

The World of Glass will also host live glassmaking demonstrations, hands-on workshops, family activities, community art projects and more. These core activities of the International Festival of Glass 2026 take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (28-31 August 2026).

The exhibitions are free to visit.

Prior to the International Festival of Glass, artists can sign up for a range of Masterclasses. Find out more details here.

The World of Glass is at Chalon Way E, St Helens WA10 1BX, UK. Check the website for opening days/times.

CRACKED exhibition confronts barriers to glass artists

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 15, 2026

An artist-led exhibition at Street and a Half in St Helens will take place as a satellite event to the International Festival of Glass (27-31 August 2026). The show, ‘CRACKED: A Contemporary Glass Exhibition Beyond Tradition’ examines the gap between St Helens’ world-famous glass heritage and the barriers facing artists who want to work with the material today.

The exhibition presents the work of six artists (Amber Hahn, Gee Collins, Liam Cosford, John Carney, Mali Non and Lucy Evans) who were brought together as part of Gee’s research (funded by Developing Your Creative Practice, Arts Council England) that focused on understanding curation and fabrication of contemporary sculpture, alongside learning more about where grassroots artists fit in to St Helens’ industrial heritage.

Over a 12-month period, Gee organised peer sharing sessions, with the artists meeting online as well as visiting Frieze art fair, Pilkington Glass Factory, The World of Glass, Stourbridge Glass Museum and Sunderland Glass Centre. They also took part in workshops on stained glass, glass blowing, and lamp work.

Liam Cosford (Southend-on-Sea) uses glass engraving and cutting to explore interconnectedness through ‘crud’. With glass acting as a storage medium for dirt and grime, these marks become a record of a moment that is so often cleaned away, now forever etched upon the surface. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Their artworks take a playful approach to reflecting both the possibilities of glass and the practical barriers surrounding it: the cost of specialist facilities, the technical knowledge required to work safely, the energy involved in heating and forming the material and the limited opportunities available for independent experimentation. For example, the lack of access to professional lighting means an artist includes lights within their sculptures, or an artist purposefully includes dirt and fingerprints within a glass work that those used to working with glass try to buff out.

The artists have approached glass through cold engraving, computer-generated textures, industrial float-glass sheets, traditional vessels and experimental sculptural processes as their exhibits address what is needed to ensure that the area’s industrial heritage can support new creative practice.

They highlight that St Helens helped transform the way glass is produced around the world, continues to manufacture it at an industrial scale and is now home to major research into the future of low-carbon glassmaking. Yet, for independent artists living and working in the region, glass remains one of the hardest materials to access.

Blown glass vessels by Amber Hahn (London). Amber uses glassblowing and writing to explore sensory experience and embodied relationships with materials and environments. Photo: Sam Sweet.

They explain that CRACKED begins with a contradiction at the heart of contemporary glassmaking. St Helens helped make high-quality glass available across the world. The float-glass process developed in the town transformed the manufacture of windows, buildings and vehicles and became an international industry standard. However, access to industrial infrastructure is not the same as access for artists. Large-scale factories and research facilities are designed for commercial manufacturing and technical trials. Independent artists need something different: affordable workspace, specialist equipment, practical guidance, time to experiment and the freedom to make mistakes.

St Helens-based Lucy Evans said, “Since graduating, I’ve encountered several barriers when trying to access the glass industry. Being a part of an exhibition that is putting a spotlight on the medium is incredibly exciting to me and gives me the rare chance to showcase my work in a glass-focused environment.”

‘A Younger You and a Younger Me’ by Lucy Evans uses slumped float glass. Photo: Lucy Evans.

Skills once acquired through large workplaces and passed between generations are now more likely to be encountered through heritage organisations, education, limited studio opportunities or short-term cultural programmes.

CRACKED considers what is lost when a material remains central to the identity of a place but becomes distant from the daily lives of many of the people who live there.

It also asks a wider question relevant to former industrial towns across the UK: can industrial heritage remain alive without giving new generations meaningful opportunities to work with it?

The exhibition creates space to discuss access, labour, experimentation and the conditions under which contemporary glass art is made. The group is using this to garner support and raise funds for an emerging glass apprenticeship, which would provide a young artist from the area with funds to access a glass hotshop and undertake important training.

Rather than presenting St Helens’ glass history as something finished, CRACKED connects that history to the future. The artists’ work considers how traditional craft can sit alongside digital processes, industrial materials and contemporary sculpture – and how glass can be understood not only as a beautiful or precious material, but as something shaped by labour, technology, class, energy and place.

CRACKED is produced by Tobias Ferguson, with support from Artist-Led St Helens. He has created a temporary structure and design lighting around the artworks. This custom space will highlight and navigate the barriers to exhibiting glass work at a grassroots level.

The exhibition is free to visit and takes place from 27-31 August 2026 (10am-4pm). There is a talk and artist tour (also free but spaces are limited) on Friday 28 August (12-3pm), titled ‘From Magic to Industry’, plus a launch event that evening (6-9pm).

Venue: Street and a Half, Haydock St, St Helens WA10 1DD.

Further details available via this link.

Renaissance man

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 9, 2026

Glass artist Stacey Poultney talks about the evolution of his practice and his aspirations to make brutalist-inspired, kinetic pieces, drawing on his varied craft and engineering skills.

Glass has been a lifelong passion of mine, with stained glass being my first and most direct way of working creatively with the material. While I continue to undertake select stained glass and dalle de verre projects within my personal practice, my focus is mainly on producing three-dimensional glass, an area that has drawn my interest throughout my career. I strongly believe in the importance of recontextualising stained glass, or aspects of it, in order to preserve these skills and maintain their relevance today.

‘Untltled’ artwork pushing the boundaries of glass and mixed media.

My knowledge of flat glass, together with bonding and coldworking techniques, enables me to construct layered sculptures that explore depth and structure. These approaches are central to the approach to my latest body of work. My glass process is supported by my skills in mechanical engineering, metalworking, machining, and woodworking, which play a key role in how the works are built and presented.

Detail of ‘Urban Echoes’ showing the layered glass effect.

The current format of my work is massively rewarding, as I am progressively enhancing the scale and complexity of each completed glass work in combination with materials commonly found in industrial settings. Utilising my broad skill set, I have begun fabricating systems that facilitate the transition from static glass works to automated installations, whether for gallery display or exterior spaces.

An untitled wall piece exemplifying Stacey’s industrial influences.

My work draws inspiration from graffiti culture, urban decay, brutalist architecture, and industrial design. I am particularly interested in the contrast between rigid, repetitive structures and the unpredictable patterns of decay. Float glass, commonly used in architectural glazing, forms the foundation of my latest work and is chosen for its subtle tint and uniformity.

Design process

I begin every project by mentally resolving 3D challenges, often visualising the finished glass piece in its individual components before any physical work begins. This process is supported by spending hours producing complex, geometric hand drawings. My drawings rarely resemble the final glass piece, but they allow me the time to mentally unpack and refine ideas.

An example of a drawn design for ‘Together in Geometric Dreams’.

To maintain precision throughout the making process, I produce detailed technical layouts and 2D plans that incorporate the fixings and enclosures integral to the presentation of my work. I enjoy working to fine tolerances and do not compromise on quality. I also design and build project-specific jigs to support complex bonding processes and facilitate accurate cold-working at precise angles. These bespoke tools enable me to achieve consistent, repetitive forms within a single piece, a technical challenge I particularly enjoy.

Another design idea for ‘Together in Geometric Dreams’.

Glass offers a wide range of optical qualities, and I use these intentionally by controlling opacity throughout the material rather than relying solely on surface finishes. Drawing on my background in stained glass, I kiln-fire silver stain and glass paint across multiple layers to introduce controlled colour and varying levels of opacity. Each firing is carefully managed to minimise surface distortion and texture, ensuring the accuracy required for strong, tightly bonded laminations.

Detail of ‘Urban Echoes’.

Rather than accepting the traditional high gloss finish associated with glass, I use surface treatments to shape how the work is experienced. For example, a large glass cube may be finished to 360 grit on five faces to obscure its detailed core, while one highly polished face provides a clear focal point looking into the internal structure.

Practice evolution

The images in this article show completed works that I have made to exhibition standard. While I value them as individual pieces, I increasingly see them as early versions of a larger concept that is now shaping the direction of my personal practice.

Another untitled sculpture showing Stacey’s brutalist and industrial influences.

This will be a significant shift towards creating mechanical glass installations, as opposed to what would traditionally be a stationary collection of glass sculptures. I am currently designing and making the mechanical components before integrating the electronics, pulleys and belt systems that will bring the works into motion. Once the mechanisms are complete, I shall produce the glass elements, similar in character to my piece ‘Urban Echoes’, which will rotate at very slow speeds to reveal constantly changing perspectives.

My fascination with glass extends beyond the finished object. I am inspired by every stage of its journey, from the extraction of its raw materials and the immense energy required to produce it, through to the physically demanding processes of making and, in my case, cold working, to achieve as high a controlled finish as possible. This brings together my deep appreciation of craftsmanship with engineering, mechanics and electronics, reflecting the interdisciplinary approach that has become central to my practice.

‘Untitled’ piece featuring mixed media.

Glass sculpture often offers only a limited number of viewpoints. By introducing movement, I want the new work to reveal itself gradually, allowing viewers to experience changing forms, reflections and details that would otherwise remain hidden. Rather than presenting glass as a static object, I want to create installations that evolve through motion and encourage a more immersive relationship between the artwork and its audience.

Stacey Poultney.

About the artist

I’ve worked in higher education for the past 17 years as a glass practitioner in my own capacity. I have completed major commercial glass projects in diverse settings, including world heritage sites, national museums, as well as religious and contemporary buildings. I also deliver content on a degree programme, specialising in stained glass, dalle de verre, architectural glass, glassblowing and contemporary glass practices.

Find out more about Stacey and his glass work via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/staceypoultney and Instagram: @staceypoultney

Main feature image: ‘Urban Echoes’ demonstrates Stacey’s many skills in glass and engineering. All images courtesy of the artist.

Open call for International Biennale of Glass in Bulgaria

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 6, 2026

Artists of all ages and nationalities are invited to apply for the sixth International Biennale of Glass (IBG) in Bulgaria, IBG 2027, which will mark 10 years since its foundation.

The exhibition will take place from 24 September to 5 December 2027 at the National Gallery/Kvadrat 500 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and will again celebrate the work of contemporary glass artists from around the world.

Founded in 2017 on the initiative of artist Konstantin Valchev, a graduate of Prof. Stanislav Libenský and founder of the Glass Atelier at the New Bulgarian University in Sofia, the IBG has established itself as a leading platform for international dialogue in glass art. From its inception, IBG has aimed to position Bulgaria as an active meeting point for artists, curators, and institutions working across diverse schools, techniques, generations, and creative practices.

Held biennially, IBG has grown into a major cultural forum featuring exhibitions, lectures, educational programmes and more. Its guiding motto, ‘Together’, reflects its core mission: to unite emerging and established artists and to foster exchange, collaboration, and shared artistic growth.

Alongside its exhibition programme, IBG has developed a significant collection of donated pieces from participating artists. Over the years, this has grown to over 250 artworks, forming an important archive of contemporary glass art in its international and stylistic diversity. Selected works are on display in a permanent exhibition at the Gabensky Gallery in Tryavna, while others are shown in various exhibition formats and spaces.

The selection of participating artworks for IBG 2027 will be conducted by an international jury committee, ensuring a diverse and high quality showcase. The National Gallery of Bulgaria has been the official host and co-organizer of the event since 2019.

The deadline for applications is 15 August 2026.

The application form for IBG 2027 is available here.

For more details about IBG, please visit the official IBG website.

Artists announced for Blowfish Glass 15 x 15 exhibition

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date July 3, 2026

Following the success of the first Fifteen x Fifteen exhibition held by Blowfish Glass in 2024, a second show will be taking place, launching with a preview event on 22 August 2026.

After receiving over 140 applications from around the world (including the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa, the USA, Australia, Finland, Norway, France, Romania and Latvia), over 60 artists have been selected. Each artist will display a piece of work measuring no larger than 15cm x 15cm x 15cm.

Curator Bethany Wood stated, “The aim is to encourage experimentation, innovation, and fresh thinking across all glass processes – from flameworking and hot sculpting to pâte-de-verre, engraving, and beyond. The exhibition celebrates the versatility of glass while making high quality contemporary work accessible to a wide audience.”

In 2024, Fifteen x Fifteen featured 47 artists from 11 countries, showcasing an international mix of conceptual, sculptural, and functional glass.

Artists taking part this year include: Alison Jardine; Alison Lowry; Alison Mac Cormaic; Alison Stott; Amelia Skachill Burke; Angela Thwaites; Aria Kiani; Avis Dou; Ayako Hirogaki; Brenda Page; Caroline Anne Weidman; Cathryn Shilling; Charlie Burke; David Reekie; Deborah Timperley; Emma Baker; Emma Goring; Eva-Annamaria Lihor-Laza; Georgia Redpath; Gillies Jones; Helen Slater Stokes; Jane Vincent; Jean Thebault; Jeremy Sinkus; Joshua Kerley/Guy Marshall Brown; Jade Pinnell; Julie Light; Karen Browning; Katherine Huskie; Kerry Collison; Kira Fröse; Kira Phoenix K’ina; Laura Aalto-Setälä; Laura McKinley; Laura Quinn; Layne Rowe; Laxmi Priya; Lindsay LeBlanc; Lisa Preußner; Lorena Rode; Lothar Böttcher; Louise Truslow; Lyndsey Gates; Madeleine Hughes; Madeline Bunyan; Maria Donnai; Maria Zulueta; Mark Bickers; Marta Gibiete; Morag Reekie; Nicola Steel; Pål Roland Janssen; Ruth Shelley; Sacha Delabre; Sally Beeston; Sarah Shanahan; Scott Chaseling; Sharon Korek; Shonah Escombe; Sue Simmons; Susan Kinley; Suzie Smith; Theo Brooks; Thomas Petit; Tim Rawlinson, and Weston Lambert.

Bethany added, “Thank you to every artist who applied – the standard of work was exceptionally high and selecting this year’s exhibition was incredibly difficult.

“We can’t wait to welcome you all to Fifteen x Fifteen 2026 on Saturday 22nd August from 11am onwards at Blowfish Glass Gallery.”

The preview day coincides with the Stourbridge Glass Quarter Festival (21-23 August 2026), which includes exhibitions at General Office Gallery, Stourbridge Glass Museum (A Celebration of Glass), the Ruskin Glass Centre, and the Red House Glass Cone in collaboration with Makers Market Midlands.

Following the preview day, the exhibition will be open to the public from 2 September until 22 October 2026, with the online exhibition continuing until 22 November 2026.

Opening times are Thursday: 10.30am-3pm; Friday: 1-7pm; Saturday: 10.30am-3pm; Sunday-Wednesday: closed. However, viewing on other days and times can be booked by appointment.

Blowfish Glass is at: Unit 15, Red House Glass Cone, High Street, Wordsley, Stourbridge, DY8 4AZ. https://blowfishglassart.com

Image: Detail of artwork by Kerry Collison that is appearing in the Fifteen x Fifteen exhibition.

Submit proposals for GAS 2027 conference in Sweden

Post author By Linda Banks, Editor
Post date June 26, 2026

The Glass Art Society (GAS) will be travelling to Kosta, Smaland, Sweden, for its 2027 conference and now invites proposals for presentations.

The conference theme will be ‘ReKindle: Glass, Sustainability, and the Future of Making’.

GAS states, “ReKindle is both a reunion and a reckoning. First envisioned for 2020 and now being realized in 2027, this conference arrives at a moment when the global glass community is asking urgent and exciting questions: How do we make glass in a more sustainable way? How do we honour tradition while embracing change? How do we ensure that glass – its techniques, its histories, its communities – continues to thrive for generations to come?”

Against this backdrop, GAS invites artists, educators, historians, collectors, technologists and advocates from around the world to bring their perspectives to these conversations. Proposals will be welcomed across all areas of glass practice and scholarship. Particular encouragement goes to work engaging with:

Sustainability in materials, process, and pedagogy

Innovation rooted in craft tradition

Emerging and experimental approaches to glassmaking

The evolving role of glass in art, design, and culture

Community-building and access within the global glass field.

Kosta is in the heart of Sweden’s Kingdom of Crystal. Kosta Boda was founded here in 1742 and the glass furnaces have not gone cold since. The region’s 14 historic glassworks represent one of the most concentrated living traditions of glass art in the world.

GAS 2027 conference dates are 2-5 June 2027.

Proposal submissions are open until 31 July 2026. Find out more and apply via this link.