International Festival of Glass shows the cutting edge of ancient tradition
Glass seems to be a medium which is on the move at the moment, with a huge range of artists exploring its unique possibilities in all sorts of ways.
In one of the talks during the festival Matt Duran asks whether we are entering a new evolutionary phase in glassmaking, prompted by rising energy costs and increased environmental awareness.
And throughout the festival at the Ruskin Glass Centre local inventor Merlyn Farwell will be demonstrating his new Combination Complete Glassmaking Production Plant, which opens up the possibility of “garden shed glassmaking” with running costs of between £35 and £45 a week.
If you are interested in collecting contemporary glass rather than making it, the event for you is Confident Collecting, two free after-hours tours of the Biennale with Michelle Keeling and fellow organiser Candice-Elena Greer, with tips on collecting and advice on the artists to watch.
The Black Country can be a mystery to anyone from more than ten miles away, and you suspect that however high the profile of the festival, and the Biennale in particular, it still isn’t as high as it deserves to be.
But as Natasha George reveals, there are signs that it is getting there.
In 2008 the Victoria & Albert Museum came to take a look for the first time, and recently she was approached for advice by people in Spain who want to set up a glass festival there.
“We’re getting a lot of interest from the States. The Americans particularly like the informality of it, because in the State’s there is not the same access between artists and members of the public.
“One of the really good things that came out of the last festival was that the Paul Hamlyn Trust, which is supporting the Ghanaian beadmaking, really liked the community aspect of it.
They contacted us and said if we could come up with something they would like to fund it.”
* For full details of this year’s festival events, visit www.ifg.org.uk, or contact the International Festival of Glass at the Ruskin Glass Centre, Wollaston Road, Amblecote, Stourbridge 01384 399410, info@ifg.org.uk
* There is an admission charge at the Ruskin Glass Centre during the four days of the festival
At all other times admission to festival exhibitions is free.
