The Contemporary Glass Society announced the winners of its "2017 Glass Prize," a contest conducted by the Society for recent glass-art graduates in the U.K. The first place winner, Phöebe Tan of University College Falmouth, will receive a £250 cash prize; £250 in warm glass vouchers; a feature article in the 16-page publication Graduate Review distributed to the entire CGS membership; a two-year membership to the CGS; and other benefits.
The first two runners-up, Ian Palfrey of Plymouth College of Art and Jahday Ford of Manchester School of Art, will each receive £50 in vouchers for Creative Glass UK, a one-year membership to the CGS, and other benefits.
There were almost 50 contestants in all. Four achieved “highly commended” status, and 11 additional graduates will be included in the Review. In order to be eligible to enter, contestants had to graduate from an accredited glass program in 2017. The jury who selected the prize winners -- artist and curator Cathryn Shilling, collector and promoter Alan J. Poole, glass collector Michael Barnes, and artist Sarah Brown -- had a hard task selecting the winning recent graduades.
The CGS is intent on promoting young artists and the idea that glass education is more important than ever, as the number of courses and programs that are in danger of closing is ever-increasing. Additionally, this media exposure is hoped to be a way to jumpstart the careers of recent graduates.