Two years after the successful inaugural symposium in December 2013, UrbanGlass is again partnering with the Robert M. Minkoff Foundation to present a gathering of department heads, professors, and educators to discuss best practices in the lecture hall and studio. The upcoming symposium, titled "Issues in Glass Pedagogy: New Technologies in Practice" will be taking place from October 22 -24, 2015 in Brooklyn, New York. The meeting of glass art educators will focus on new technology, with an empahsis on which of the new developments have the most relevance to the practice of glass art. The keynote presentation will be delivered by Tina Aufiero, artistic director of Pilchuck and the former director of the BFA Design & Technology Program at Parsons in New York City. Titled "bits + bytes: migratory investigations," Aufiero's talk aims to discuss the "technological implications for the field of glass."
The full program of the conference is being developed and will be shaped by submissions received in response to the just-issued Call to Papers. Submissions are to be emailed to symposium@urbanglass.org by the deadline of May 1, 2015. Submissions will be considered by a jury that includes Tina Aufiero; independent artist Daniel Clayman; Minkoff Foundation director, GLASS magazine editor, and symposium organizer Andrew Page; head of glass and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University Jack Wax; and UrbanGlass education director Ben Wright. Selected presenters will receive complimentary symposium registration, and an honorarium of $200. The 2013 symposium, which attracted nearly 100 faculty and educators from as far away as Australia, Finland, and Japan, mixed lectures with panel discussions and a studio demo. The 2015 event will include more moderated discussions and opportunitites for debating the merits of new technologies. The goal is to provide educators with an opportunity for professional development, networking opportunites, and experiences of New York galleries through an organized walking tour of top galleries in Chelsea. In 2013, four major galleries opened their doors and offered presentations about the work on display for symposium attendees.
Registration for the 2015 event is $175, with a special student rate of $125 (valid I.D. required). Attendees are responsible for their own lodgings, and special hotel rates will be posted as they are negotiated.