Jack Wax to deliver keynote at 2013 UrbanGlass academic symposium entitled “Issues in Glass Pedagogy

Jack Wax, a professor in the Craft/Material Studies Department at The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, will deliver the keynote presentation.

UrbanGlass, the Brooklyn-based nonprofit that publishes the GLASS Quarterly Hot Sheet as well as the print edition of GLASS, announced today that it will host an academic symposium on December 6th and 7th, 2013, entitled “Issues in Glass Pedagogy.” The two-day event will bring together department heads, faculty members, instructors, and students to share best practices and discuss all aspects of glass instruction. While designed for glass educators at degree-granting institutions, the symposium is open to anyone engaged in or curious about the teaching of art-making using glass. The conference keynote presentation will be made by Jack Wax, a professor in the Craft/Material Studies Department at The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, who will deliver a paper with the provocative title of ““Loud, Hyperbolic, and Self-Branding: How glass departments can redefine and reposition themselves in university art curriculums.” Ruth King, former artistic director of Pilchuck Glass School is a featured presenter, and will deliver a lecture entitled ““You Have to Get Out of It to Get Into It: How university glass programs can balance glass craft with issues in contemporary art.” Both Wax and King will participate in a panel discussion, joined by artist Dan Clayman and moderated by GLASS magazine editor and Robert M. Minkoff Foundation director Andrew Page, on the topic: “Does the inherently complex nature of glass process work for or against the development of a conceptual framework?”

Ruth King’s featured presentation is entitled: “You Have to Get Out of It to Get Into It: How university glass programs can balance glass craft with issues in contemporary art”

While registrations are now being taken, the conference has also issued a call for papers, and is requesting proposals for presentations. Papers should take approximately 45 minutes to read (between 3,000 – 4,000 words) and deal with issues in glass pedagogy. The conference organizers are seeking both academic papers presented in an auditorium setting with visual projection, as well as practical discussions of studio issues, to be presented in the newly renovated studios of UrbanGlass. Proposals will be reviewed by Dan Clayman, Ruth King, Robert Minkoff, Andrew Page, and Jack Wax. Selected presenters will have the conference’s $175 fee waved and also receive a $200 honorarium. Proposals should be emailed to symposium@urbanglass.org by September 1st, 2013.

Dan Clayman will take part in a panel discussion entitled: “Does the inherently complex nature of glass process work for or against the development of a conceptual framework?”

The 2013 UrbanGlass Academic Symposium will include an optional field trip to visit New York City galleries featuring glass artwork on the evening of Thursday, December 5th. The two-day conference will offer numerous opportunities for networking and informal breakout sessions, including a reception on Friday evening. Exhibitor tables will be available. Hotel accommodations can be reserved at area hotels at specially negotiated rates for symposium registrants. A list of participating hotels and the symposium code will be made available at the completion of registration.

This event is made possible through the support of the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation.

For more information, visit the symposium Website.

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