The exterior of the GlazenHuis in Lommel, Belgium, is itself a work of striking glass design. photo: liesbeth gesels
The private foundation Charlotte van der Seijs has announced a new competition for artists working with glass. According to the official Website, The International Glass Prize is “a triennial international glass competition for arts, design, and crafts” hosted by the GlazenHuis in Lommel, Belgium, a glass museum housed in a strikingly beautiful and modern building comprised of mostly glass. The theme of the first competition is quite simple: The Object.
The prizes total 20,000 Euros (Appoximately $27,500 US), which is divided as follows: 10,000 Euros prize money, 10,000 Euros to purchase a work for the GlazenHuis collection, and two residencies at the GlazenHuis Studios. They have made entry into the competition as hassle free as possible by accepting up to three works from any one artist, forgoing an entry fee, and refusing to impose an age limit. Acceptable types of entries include product design, free form, sculptural glass and mixed media, as long as glass is the primary material.
The jury is made up of Tina Oldknow, curator of modern glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, Jan Boelen, the director of Z33, a platform for design and visual art in Limburg, Hasselt, BelgiumRichard Meitner an artist and professor at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and Jeroen Maes, artistic coordinator of the GlazenHuis, Lommel, Belgium. Their interpretations of the proposed concept for the accepted entries are as varied as their backgrounds. Describing the work one might submit, Oldknow states: “It may be functional or it may be non-functional. It may be symbolic or it may be self-referential.” She adds surprisingly, “It may be animate.” Oldknow’s approach contrasts with the statement by Maes: “The Object is that tangible thing consisting of lifeless matter, limited in size and autonomously standing, lying or hanging in space.” Indeed, the competition itself leaves as much up to the artists as possible while factoring in the experts’ opinions on the execution of an Object.
Applications are being accepted until February 1, 2012, with the selection of contestants notified within the following two weeks. Winners will be announced the 6th of July, and the exhibition will be on display in GlazenHuis until October 8, 2012.
—Katharine Morales
TO APPLY:
The application form is only being accepted online. To fill it out, visit the official competition Website here.