A full schedule of events shapes up for GlassWeekend 2011 at WheatonArts

For GlassWeekend 2011, the glass studio at WheatonArts will be taken over from June 10th through the 12th for demonstrations by featured artists Giles Bettison and Richard Royal.

GlassWeekend 2011, WheatonArts biennial contemporary glass art event, will open at Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center on Friday, June 10th. The weekend event is organized by The Creative Glass Center of America at WheatonArts and the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. Over the course of three days, Millville, New Jersey, will be ground-zero for glass art auctions, workshops, and lectures. Once every two years, GlassWeekend draws artists, collectors, curators, and galleries in an informal get-together showcasing the work and thoughts of international artists within the glass community.

Keynote speaker Dan Dailey will be presenting a lecture on the "Materialist Art Movement," a new way of understanding the Studio Craft movement of the 1970s.

The weekend event will highlight the talents of featured artists Richard Royal and Giles Bettison, both of whom will be doing regular demonstrations in the WheatonArts glass studio amphitheater hotshop. The keynote speech of the event will be delivered by glass art legend Dan Dailey, who will speak at 11 AM Saturday on the “Materialism Art Movement,” a subject he has been advancing through a lecture series at MassArt as a new way of understanding the Studio Craft movement. Other highlights of Saturday’s lectures include a round-table of museum curators discussing their approach to exhibition planning moderated by Newark Museum decorative arts curator Ulysses Dietz and including Elizabeth Agro, Philadelphia Museum of Art associate curator of American modern and contemporary crafts and decorative arts; Renwick curator Nicholas Bell; and the fast-rising Ron Labaco, recently appointed curator of decorative arts and design at the Museum of Arts and Design.

Started in 1985, GlassWeekend is an event that has been hosted bi-annually to give glass enthusiasts the opportunity to view the work of current and emerging glass artists, socialize with other members of the glass community, and collect through auctions, all in a relaxed environment that have many calling the event the “summer camp” glass fair. Branching out from the typical fair setup, where buying and selling hold priority, GlassWeekend will offer patrons a bit extra with activities such as dinners for socializing and panels for discussion.

The weekend will begin with a few private events open to those who register early. Offered Friday afternoon is a hands-on glassmaking course where people will produce their own glass creations with the help of professional glass artists. Following the workshop will be a preview reception for the contemporary glass art exhibit, showcasing the current work of 200 glass artists from 15 international galleries, before it opens to the public on Saturday.

Once the weekend is in full swing and the exhibition opens Saturday morning, attendees will be offered an array of events related to glass art. On Saturday morning Bettison and Royal will be hosting presentations prior to their working demonstrations later that evening

See the full GlassWeekend program here, download a PDF of the registration form, and read details on how to become a Patron of GlassWeekend .

—Alica Forneret