THE GLASS VIRUS will be visiting the GAS conference 2024 in Berlin
In a different setting, we will address the hybrid as a shared experience. In response to the recent Think Tank activities, we want to now present an interactive workshop and a collective feedback session. This workshop will include small group participatory exercises.
We are looking to create human interaction, non verbal communication, a safe space in which we can role play to create shared sensory experiences, shared vulnerability and hybrid activities. We wish to encourage integration into the environment.
Workshop title: Embodied Studies
bodycontact
intervention
hybridlanguage
queerpractice
You can find more information on the GAS website soon.
THE GLASS VIRUS THINK TANK #7. September 22 + 23 2023
The symposium was made possible by
Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds
Hugo van Win Glasfonds
Again, we were hosted in the premises of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. In this first symposium after the pandemic, we were happy to welcome 40 participants to 2 days of listening, playing, discussing, and making new friends.
Day 1 started with a lecture by Luk Lambrecht, a curator, writer and educator from Belgium, who shared his ideas on the hybrid in the artist practice. Gathered from his personal experience, from collaborations with the local Belgian art scecne to acclaimed artists like Gerhard Richter, Luk gave us more than one question to debate on.
On day 2, things started to get a little bit more physical, as Anna Mlasowsky, know for her performances, interactions with the audience and a wider hybrid practice, made us move with and listen to bubbles of thin blown glass. From the hybrid artist to the hybrid audience, looking for the queer in ourselves and in our practice as artists, designers or educators.
Ufuk Akbey and Marie De Bruyn gave a couple of demonstrations of Ufuk's work in the hotshop.
We do not publish any outcomes of the symposium, as we want to provide optimal conditions for the participants and maintain our conversations open and confidential.
The Glass Virus will continue the discussion on hybrid and queer practices at the 2024 GAS conference in Berlin. See HERE for more information.
THE GLASS VIRUS THINK TANK #7. September 22 + 23 2023
About the Hybrid
The arts have long since ceased to be pinned down to the studio principles that are (still) used today within art academies.
Artists realize that art "deals" with content and that the making process in times in which the available resources become more digital and complex, is better left in the hands of facilitating technicians with a feeling and passion for art(s).
This evolution has already begun much faster in the stage arts. We think of the early 1960s activities of the judson dance theater in new york and of all the developments hereafter with exciting sequels. We think of the art of dan graham; of partial aspects of the oeuvre of gerhard richter and of contemporary choreographers such as meg stuart who linked the problem of the hybrid to transparency - a concept that, in a tactile way, allows us as spectator/participant to confront with ourselves.
Glass is very close to reflective glass and mirror. They are materials that the best artists employ to challenge the mental resilience in the creation and in this way also to fragment the artwork in terms of perception and "open" interpretation.
The lecture will be a brief panorama of how the arts can no longer claim the privilege of the artistic means employed, no matter how technically crafted it may be and/or be presented.
Today, all artistic means are "at the service" of what and about which an artist wishes to "speak," and that today this has become a broad and colorful spectrum, prove the countless amassed small and large exhibitions that carry the hybrid as a self-evident dna within them.
Luk Lambrecht
June 2023
Hosted again at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, the Glass Virus Think Tank # 7 will be the first gathering in person since the pandemic had put a hold on our regular symposia. It will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Glass Virus.
The discussions will be initiated by the keynote lecture provided by Belgium writer, critic, curator and educator Luk Lambrecht. We formulate topics from the lecture to bring into break-out groups for discussion and further contemplation.
The lecture will be a brief panorama of how the arts can no longer claim the privilege of the artistic means employed, no matter how technical and artisanal they may be and/or are presented. Today, all artistic means are "at the service" of what and about what an artist wants to "speak," and that this has today become a broad and colorful spectrum is proven by the countless small and large exhibitions that incorporate the hybrid as a self-evident DNA.
Luk Lambrecht is a critic, essayist, curator and coordinator fine arts at PXL/MAD Hogeschool Hasselt, Belgium.
On the second day, Anna Mlasowsky will invite us to be part of an intervention that charges our physical and philosophical perception and bring the artist’s view into the discussion on the hybrid.
Anna Mlasowsky is a German born artist, who now lives and works between Seattle and Stockholm, where she is Professor for glass and ceramics at Konstfack University.
Saturday sept. 23
9:30 coffee, introduction
10:30 intervention with Anna Mlasowsky
11:30 breakout sessions 3
13:00 lunch
14:00 breakout sessions 4
15:30 coffee break
16:00 breakout sessions 5
17:30 plenum, feedback and round up
19:00 dinner (optional)
Book a ticket
You can register by simply sending us an email to theglassvirus@gmail.com State how many people you want to register for and when you are planning to arrive and leave (this due to possible adjustments to the itinerary).
Registration fee is €50 per person. Students do not need to pay but should register per email.
Payments can be made to The Glass Virus:
IBAN: NL19 INGB 0675 0692 38
BIC/SWIFT: INGBNL2A
Please register before September 5, 2023
Accommodation
Exclusively for the symposium, the Olympic Hotel down the road from the Rietveld Academie, offers a special deal.
Check-in
21 or 22/09/2023
Check-out
23 or 24/09/2023
Price per room per night
€135 night of 21 september
€175 night of 22 september en 23 september
Prices are always including breakfast and VAT but exclude tourist tax (7% of netto room price + € 3 per person per night)
The hotel holds the rooms until August 1. If you want to book a room, please contact the hotel directly, stating that you are with the Gerrit Rietveld Academie.
Other recommendations for tighter budgets are
Qbic Hotel WTC approx. €165/night (Located in front of Zuid Station. Walking distance 20min, metro is one stop from Zuid Station 10 min.) See Qbic Hotel WC
Aadam Wilhelmina Hotel approx. €132/night (Located near the Concert Gebouw. 10min from the Rieveld with tram and 20 min walk) See Aadam Wilhelmina Hotel
Luk Lambrecht lioves and wprks in Brussels, Belgium.
He is coordinator of Fine Arts at PXL-Schjool of Arts in Hasselt, coordinates
art-integration at UZ Brussels, is part of the committee on purchasing art from the Flemish Community and is chairman of the arts-workgroup of the VgC in Brussels.
The most recent major exhibitions have dealt with the oeuvre of Jacqueline Mesmaeker in a triptych (Museum culture Strombeek/Ghent, Bozar & Roger Raveel Museum) and Philippe Van Snick (S.M.A.K., Ghent)
Curating activities in preparation (autumn 2023): "Jef Geys makes school" in Z33 Hasselt and (early October 2023):
Honoré d'O in the PXL-MAD Art Gallery in Hasselt.
Luk Lambrecht regularly publishes in catalogs and in the art press (including Flux News).
Anna Mlasowsky holds a BA in Glass from the Royal Danish Academy and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Washington. Anna is a recipient of a TAG Grant (2015), an IASPIS Grant (2013) from the Swedish Arts Council, an Artist Trust Fellowship (2017) and 4Culture Grant (2019), she was most recently a Haas Fellow at the Science History Institute (2021-22) and an artist in residence at Amazon (2022).
Her work has been featured in American Craft, the Shanghai Museum of Art Magazine, PBS Discovery Channel Canada, and Half Cut Tea. She received an Aldo Bellini Award (2015), the John and Joyce Price Award of Excellence (2018) a Toyama Glass Biennial Silver Prize and was a Museum of Art and Design Burk Prize finalist.
Anna’s work is in the collections of institutions such as The Corning Museum of Glass (NY), The Toyama City Art Museum (Japan), the Castello Sforzesco (Milan, Italy) and the Museum of Art and Design (NY). Her work has been shown at The European Museum for Contemporary Glass, The Northwest Museum of Art, The Bellevue Arts Museum and the Stockholm Architecture Museum.
In 2023, Anna was appointed Professor for Glass and Ceramics at Konstfack University, Stockholm, Sweden. She was visiting Professor in Glass at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy, Poland in 2021. Numerous guest- teaching positions let her around the world, lecturing at Universities and schools as Tyler School of Arts, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, University of Hawaii, Rochester Institute of Technology, Alfred University, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art, Nagoya University, Urban Glass, Pilchuck Summer School and others.
THE GLASS VIRUS AT THE GAS VIRTUAL 2021 CONFERENCE
The Glass Virus Conversations
Embodied Narratives
Erin Dickson and Gayle Matthias are UK based artists who each have distinctive and diverse research practices engaging theoretical, digital and making genres as conceptual communication tools. The significance of British cultural heritage has defined both their work; they are interested in UK postindustrial landscapes and cultures of the North East and the Midlands (the Potteries). Through a conversational style dialogue, they explore mutual/threads of common thematics of inspirations and working methodologies and will discuss their personal responses to these experiences.
Erin Dickson is an artist, digital specialist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Gayle Matthias is an artist, researcher and Subject Leader for BA(Hons) Crafts and Material Practices course at Plymouth College of Art and co-researcher for the Glass Virus
The full conversation and Q&A on Saturday, May 22, 8am PT / 5pm CET
Biographical Narratives
This lecture features Dr Caroline Madden in an interview with Dr. Joseph Mc Brinn, who is currently researching and writing a biography of the Irish artist Evie Hone who was widely heralded as the greatest stained-glass artist of the twentieth century. In this interview, Dr. Mc Brinn will discuss the complex process of researching the material history of craft, where only fragments of an archive exist, and of unearthing the fascinating story of a highly individual artist who left a remarkable legacy.
Dr. Caroline Madden is an artist researcher and lecturer in the School of Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design in Ireland and co-researcher for the Glass Virus.
Dr. Joseph Mc Brinn is a writer, curator and lecturer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He writes about and has lectured widely on Irish art, design and craft. He has published extensively on the intersecting histories of gender, disability and sexuality in art and design and particularly in modern craft and has served as an editor on the Journal of Modern Craft.
The full conversation and Q&A on Friday, May 21, 8am / 5pm CET
Global Narratives
This lecture explores Michael Roger’s international practices, as artist, educator and curator. Rogers has spent a large part of his career traveling and working in countries outside of the US which include Japan, China, South Korea and Latvia. Through his travels and many years of teaching and collaborations, Rogers has collected a unique array of global narratives. In conversation with artist researcher Jens Pfeifer, Rodgers will share and explore the cultural richness of the connections garnered through these lived experiences.
Jens Pfeifer is an artist and Head of the Large Glass Department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. He also is the founder and chairman of the Glass Virus.
Michael Rogers currently divides his time living and working in Riga, Latvia and upstate New York in the US. He maintains active research relationships with Rochester Institute of Technology, the Studio at Corning Museum and Alfred University.
The full conversation and Q&A on Thursday, May 20, 8am / 5pm CET
The Glass Virus seminars continue in the next year. With new topics and new artists entering the Glass Virus platform every last Wednesday of the month:
January 27, 2021 Performance and Materiality,
featuring Ella Fisher Leventon, Sam Chua and Carly-Rose Bedford
moderated by Karen Donnellan and Jens Pfeifer
February 24, 2021 New Work, New Audiences,
introducing Emer Lynch, Daan Gielis, Nadja Romain, moderated by Caroline Madden
In the meantime, you can enjoy (again) the previous seminars online on our very new YouTube channel:
We are still working on the last bits of editing but should have the 3rd seminar online just after Christmas.
For comments or suggestions, please contact us at theglassvirus@gmail.com
We wish you a happy season and a very prosperous and healthy new year
Every last Wednesday of the month, the Glass Virus will organize an online seminar with invited young artists, who will present their work and discuss the practice with experienced experts.
In these monthly sessions, we want to discuss various examples of artists practices and the future of (recently graduated) artists and designers and glass-art education.
In the next seminar, the conversation will elaborate on the distinctions of cultural heritage, and how art- and educational institutions struggle to break through deadlocked structures of ethnical hierarchies.
Follow the individual perspectives of our panellists, discussing their experiences and artworks in both a historical and a contemporary context.
Culture of Inclusivity
with Seran Francis (GB), Johan Ibrahim Adam (SE/NL), MUZIWANDILE GIGABA (SA), Mohini Chandra (GB) and Gayla Matthias (GB)
The Glass Virus introduces the Seminar Series 2020. A new format for online exchange and the conversation of current topics in glass art and art education.
Due to the pandemic, a continuation of the Think Tanks, with physical presence of all participants, did not seem feasible. But especially now it is important that the community actively cooperates in finding solutions for the whole community as well as for individual partners, especially the artists, who are affected by the restrictions and consequences of the lockdown and a shrinking economy. This is why we have looked at alternative forms so that we can still be a supporting platform for our network.
In monthly sessions, we want to discuss various examples of artists practices and the future of (recently graduated) artists and designers and glass-art education.
It is difficult enough for young artists to conduct a practice in which they are economically and socially independent immediately after their studies. However, this year's graduates are facing even more challenges because social and economic structures are partially or completely absent and they have to build a professional life in an incomparable situation.
Young artists rightly have questions, doubts and concerns about their personal future as artists, within a transforming society that seeks to redefine itself. The consequences of the pandemic, social and ecological fairness, cultural equality; are all subjects, which are often addressed in the work of the young artists.
The Glass Virus wants to make these concerns accessible in the seminars and share it with a large audience, including educational and professional institutions, individual makers, curators and students.
Every last Wednesday of the coming five months, the Glass Virus will organize an online seminar with invite young artists, who will present their work and discuss the practice, interest and future endeavors with experienced experts.
The first set of seminars will contemplate the following topics:
• Making Art in Pandemic Time October 28 2020. 6pm CET
• Culture of Inclusivity November 25 2020. 6pm CET
• Writing as a Way of Making December 16 2020. 6pm CET
• Performativity and Materialism January 27 2021. 6pm CET
• New Work, New Audiences February 24 2021. 6pm CET
The seminars will be accessible on Zoom. Links will be published on the Glass Virus website, on instagram and facebook. klick here to get to the seminars.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The Relevance of Critical Making: Practice and Education
The Think Tank #6 - open call for papers, presentations and moderated talks is now extended until April 24 2020.
Dear reader,
In tumultuous times like these, the focus shifts to the personal and adjusting to the daily changes of life as much as possible. It is clear that, when we get out of this isolation, we will find a different world. The immense impact this pandemic has on the societies all over the world will not only show in social structures, as it affects the economically and most vulnerable, but through that will also inflict a major impression on the current educational structures. This seems a lesser concern at this point, when you have to deal with the restrictions and consequences of the isolation. And it is legitimately questionable if we should ‘just’ continue to prepare for our next conference.
We have decided that we will continue, as we feel that the engagement in this community reaches further than professional life. We see this call as an opportunity for ourselves and the next generation to engage in the perception of a culture that exposes its vulnerability in solidarity, healthcare and economy. We thus believe that more than ever, we should invest in artistic research, which calls for more inclusivity, impartiality and constructive criticality in art education.
Educational structures are being tested to the extreme right now. Whichever way we will come out of this crisis, in the best case we will develop an understanding of how we can learn from the lengthy months of shut-down and isolation. The relevance of criticality, and what critical making can add to the education as we know it, is as urgent as ever.
Therefore, we want to extend our open call until the end of April 2020. Our aim is still to have the Think Tank #6 on November 6 and 7 2020.
We would like to encourage all colleagues to submit to our call for papers, presentations and moderated talks. The Think Tank #6 will hopefully look back onto the limitations and implementations we are experiencing and seeks to find out what we have learned from them.
Consequently, we want extend the call to graduate students, artists-groups and researching artists who want to reflect on the actual challenges and come forward with renewed concepts for teaching and learning.
We do appreciate your consideration and ask you to forward this call to your peers and possible contributors.
• CALL FOR ABSTRACTS EXTENDED UNTIL END OF APRIL 2020
• THINK TANK#6 STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 6 AND 7, 2020
• EXTENDED CALL FOR PAPERS, PRESENTATIONS AND MODERATED TALKS
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS The Relevance of Critical Making: Practice and Education
The Glass Virus is now inviting practice led researchers and postgraduates to submit abstracts for ‘Relevance of Critical Making: Practice and Education’ Think Tank VI to be held at the Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, November 6 - 7, 2020.
We are seeking papers, provocations, presentations, moderated discussions, dialogues and/or poster-board presentations that emerge new paradigms relative to critical making in art practice and education.
The aim of this year’s Think Tank is to provide a discursive forum to interrogate and develop current and innovative research constructs relevant to practice led research in art practice and education, with particular relevance to glass.
The Glass Virus welcomes the opportunity to publish proceedings or completed research documents on the website.
To present at Glass Virus Think Tank VI, ‘Relevance of Critical Making: Practice and Education’, you must submit the abstract submission form and abstract outline electronically via email to the glassvirus@gmail.com by the abstract deadline of Monday 23 March 2020 with the subject line:
2020 OPEN CALL Glass Virus Think Tank VI
The Glass Virus Think Tank panel will operate a double blind review process.
Abstract submission requires:
Your name(s), institution (if applicable), phone, and email address
Name and email for all co-authors
An abstract title
An abstract outline (300 words approximately)
Poster Presentations
Poster presentations are paper displays that must be prepared in advance. They may not include exhibits of models, devices, or computer programs. You are responsible for printing your own poster. The poster should be on A2 paper. Presenters should be available to discuss their displays during an assigned session.
The results of the call for contributions will be announced by 4 May 2020.
Click HERE to download the abstract submission form.
2020: Working towards a lively glass art community
In the past years, The Glass Virus has become the platform for glass art education that we envisioned. The community is growing and so is the demand for collaborate endeavors that bring people together and strengthen the network of artists, educators and thinkers in glass.
We want to thank all our supporters, helpers and advisors who helped The Glass Virus with their good spirits, their active help or financial support.
As our grid is growing, we can see plenty of opportunities worth being tackled. More than ever, this growing structure depends on your dedication and support. Many of our activities can only happen with your individual commitment by being part of the virus and contributing to the discussion. There is a greater need for financial support to achieve our goals. As a foundation, we do not have memberships but depend solely on your gifts.
If you are in a giving mood, please consider to contribute to the success of The Glass Virus. Your gift of literally any amount will help us build this community into a strong network.
Would you want to invest in the future of glass art education?
Do you consider a gift to The Glass Virus right now?
Just transfer the amount of your choice to Stichting The Glass Virus:
Iban: NL84TRIO0788810480. Bic: TRIONL2U
For regular monthly or annual donations or specific individual support, please visit https://theglassvirus.com/support for more information or write to us: theglassvirus@gmail.com
The Glass Virus was asked to do a mini-think tank-workshop at the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation’s Academic Symposium at Urban Glass, Brooklyn, NY, titled "Issues in Glass Pedagogy: Criticism, Critique, and Critical Thinking".
This was a great opportunity to re-introduce the Glass Virus, after we had launched it at the first Academic Symposium in 2013.
Here is Jens’ short report of Think Tank#5 at Urban Glass.
“Critique in the Classroom”
To do a mini think tank-workshop at the Academic Symposium at Urban Glass was a new experience for us and given the limited timeframe, it was questionable if the talks could reach the intensity and depth that we are used to. But all concerns seemed redundant as we divided the guests of the symposium in groups and started discussing the topics.
After a short definition of my personal perception of critique in the classroom, the participants were challenged to break down a number of questions, which were in direct relation to the preceding talk or came about in previous lectures at the symposium.
After just 40 minutes of concentrated discussions, all groups were able to present their résumés. Those notes are by no means final answers to the questions, nor do they intent to create a common definition of critique in the classroom. Sometimes even, a group would follow its own dynamic and find other issues more significant.
All those findings are equally valuable. As in many practices, think tanks are about the content an process. They are by definition enclosed gatherings in which all sorts of issues can be discussed, in order to find a common strategy and maybe give advice to other authorities. Our think tanks are about the process much more than the result. We do find that it can be more challenging to proceed with the notes and other outcomes of the discussions rather than dealing with predetermined results. One of the biggest accomplishments of the think tanks is the understanding that frequent communication is the key to progression.
Provided questions to discuss in groups during the mini think tank:
Look at the course of critique – as a teacher, a student, a researcher or former any of that –
• Do we know what’s best for our students and how much of that can we provide?
• Is glass education per definition too monastic?
• Do we allow critique in the classroom?
• Are we fit enough to educate our students to become what we want them to become? (do we even know what that is?)
• Has glass education failed?
• Looking at your own approach: where do you stand, how can you improve your practice?
Think Tank #6 will be launched in November 2020 in Amsterdam!
In fact, you can pencil it down for the next years to come: The Glass Virus will return biannually in October or early November and very possibly it will be organized in different cities throughout Europe.
As our web is growing constantly, we just need more time and effort to organize the events. Besides, The Glass Virus wants to establish other activities alongside the biannual meetings, which also need some attention.
So, from now on, we take turns with the Robert M. Minkoff Academic Symposium at Urban Glass and seek to build a transatlantic educational forum, of which educators and artists both in Europe and in the USA can benefit equally.
The next Think Tank will be held on November 6th and 7th 2020.
More info will be shared in the beginning of next year. Keep checking the website and make sure to mark your calendar.
Jens Pfeifer will lead one of his signature Glass Virus ‘Think Tanks’ on the subject of effective critique. In a mini-think tank, we will discuss and explore various ways of constructive critique in the academic classroom. Find out more about this event and many more exiting workshops, panel discussions and lectures and get your tickets at "Issues in Glass Pedagogy: Criticism, Critique, and Critical Thinking"
Jan Egbers and Celine Hurka made a big effort to get a complex website going that is easy to navigate and full of information.
The website is made to spread information about our activities and offer a platform for critical dialogue.
In the reading section, we publish your essays, theses or other texts that you want to share with our audience.
On the map you will find a vast collection of universities and academies with glass programmes. This information comes in handy for potential glass art students, when looking for the most appropriate school. It provides an interesting overview of the diversity of European glass art education and we hope for it to be the most complete source of reference on European glass education very soon.
Your contribution is vital! Be it the practical information about your education, your graduation thesis or your PhD paper. If you send it, we will publish it on the website. See examples and information here.
But we also depend on your generous financial support, which will allow us to do research, accelerate the discussion about the future of art education in the glass field or simply maintain the website. Please spare a minute to check out our sponsors and become one yourself: support
After several years of building an international platform to communicate, debate and exchange, we thought it was about time for the next step. Just before the summer, the Glass Virus became a foundation. With this legal status we hope to be able to appear and perform on more levels, broadening the operating range and team up with other organizations and professional partners. The board consists of Marie De Bruyn, Jens Pfeifer and Bert Willems and has various advisers, who are all giving shape to the content and the appearance of the Glass Virus activities. Please check here for more information.
