Imagining Sustainable Glass Network Europe (ISGNE)
A Creative Europe project partnership with North Lands Creative, Berlin Glas Germany, Ltd. Stikla Maja Latvia and National College of Art and Design Ireland.
ISGNE will lead to the development of supports for artists, designers, curators and cultural workers working in the field of glass in the UK and across Europe through the provision of mobility visits, residencies, exhibitions, professional transnational classes and audience development initiatives such as artist-led community workshops, symposiums and an annual forum.
The ISGNE project will run over four years until May 2022 and will also look to make the medium of glass more accessible to a non-arts audience, bringing to the fore a wider public debate on the sustainability of contemporary glass by a programme of ambitious and unique experiences.
There is a vast, rich and articulated cultural history of European glass making that needs to be taken into account and protected not only for heritage or academic purposes, but also and especially for a consequent revitalization of the medium, through a closer intercultural transmission of knowledge and learning.
The main issues are the accessibility and entrance to learning, the general lack of continuing professional development of training opportunities, lack of standards, lack of access to studio equipment and facilities, loss of transferable skills in teaching, prohibitive cost of training for practitioners’ working in glass media are all serious barriers. ISGNE project is a vital step to ensure the loss of glass making skills in Europe does not happen in the foreseeable future.
Upcoming ISGNE / NCAD events include a workshop with artist Silvia Levenson February 17-27th 2019 at NCAD including a lecture at the National Gallery at Collins Barracks.
