The building that houses the Secondary School of Glassmaking.
Just three years after celebrating its 150th anniversary, The Secondary School of Glassmaking in the Czech town of Kamenick? ?enov in Northern Bohemia was suddenly facing an uncertain future. In December 2009, the school, which trains students for professions in the glass industry and has been in continuous operation since 1856, was given notice that it would be shut down by the regional government that funds it in April 2010. With two other glassmaking secondary schools within the same region — Železný Brod and Nový Bor — authorities were looking to conserve funding by consolidating these highly specialized educational institutions from three into two. The original plan was to move the Kamenick? ?enov program over to the school at Nový Bor. At the last minute, however, the local authorities appear to have blinked in the face of international pressure, and they have temporarily postponed their formal proposal—but only until this Fall.
Answering the call by Frantisek Janák, a former student of the school and its principal since 2006, over 8,000 supporters from around the world signed an online petition to protest this decision. The petition, which can be seen here, has been an opportunity for thousands of people to express support for preserving the school as an important cultural heritage site.
It appears that this effort has had a powerful effect, and that the planned closing will not happen as quickly as originally scheduled. On January 26, 2010, the Liberec District council were scheduled to formally submit their proposal, one that had been unanimously agreed upon by its members, to merge the Kamenick? ?enov program with Nový Bor. On January 25th, bowing to international opposition, the council postponed this proposal to give the school’s supporters time to develop alternatives.
“Members of the Liberec district council are aware the long-lasting tradition of the Secondary Glass School in Kamenick? ?enov, they see its value and they also appreciate the persisting efforts of its staff to maintain and develop this tradition,” read an official announcement by the council. “Therefore, the council want to make it possible for all the supporters involved to turn their proclamations into reality by 30 September 2010 at the latest.”
School principal Janák sees the development as a sign that the international support put significant political pressure on the council. “It is simply a political decision because their idea to unify our school finally did not have enough political support,” he wrote in an open letter. But Janák was quick to temper any victory celebration by pointing out the hard battle that lies ahead: “If we will not be able to find money to cover our deficit in financing of the school, they will close our school anyway. We still need your support and help!”
One of the school’s strongest advocates is Peter Rath, the great-grandson of the founder of J. & L. Lobmeyr Glass and the former director of Lobmeyr’s chandelier department for many years. Rath, who had hired many graduates of this program at Lobmeyr and who set up his own studio for 15 years in Kamenick? ?enov, believes passionately that the school must survive.
“Many famous Libensky students started in The Secondary School of Glassmaking in Kamenick? ?enov,” he wrote in an email response to questions from GLASS. “It is the only school teaching lighting design and the making of chandeliers and lamps.”
Whether the program at Kamenick? ?enov can find new sources of funding remains to seen. A summer program in July 2009 brought students from the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle for a 2-week intensive course in Bohemian glass traditions including kilncasting, coldworking, and moldmaking. Perhaps partnering with other international glass programs will hold part of the answer. Perhaps it will be a redefinition of the school as a research center into new technologies, something Rath feels is very important.
In a transitional moment for lighting with energy-consciousness forcing reevaluation of incandescent versus LED lighting, Rath argues that the expertise and legacy of the school is more important than ever as a place to develop the future of high-end glass lighting design and fabrication.
At this point, the only thing that’s clear is that the oldest glass program in Europe is at a transition point that will demand creative leadership, new partnerships, and continued international support to survive. After all, September 30th is only 8 months away.
To add your name to the petition to save the school: www.ipetitions.com/petition/senovpreservation/