The Covid-19 pandemic travel bans and widespread closures precipitated a massive shift to digital, and we're all still sifting through the explosion of content that resulted as gallery openings, art fairs, and gala fundraisers went virtual. One year ago, as the efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 were unsuccessful and the cancellations spread like wildfire, the organizers of the annual Glass Art Society conference pivoted from their extensively planned in-person event in Småland, Sweden, to the artist organization's first-ever online conference in May 2020. In a generous and much-needed gesture of support in uncertain economic times, GAS threw open the gates and let people watch and participate online at no charge. Fast forward to 2021, and this morning's launch of the conference with a 5 AM (Pacific Time) demo by the British-based team of James Devereux and Katherine Huskie as part of Joseph Rosano's "Salmon SCHOOL Project". Unlike the 2020 virtual event, the price of admission to this year's three days of demos, lectures, panel discussions, and numerous online networking events is $100, or $50 if you are an active member of GAS.
There's still time to register for this event that will run through Saturday, May 21st. We may all have been conditioned to expect free online content, but remember how much the 2020 conference meant to all us so in need of the sense of community and togetherness in a difficult moment. With the annual conference a major income source for this nonprofit organization of glass artists, your admission fee, plus any donation you can afford, is of especially critical importance for Glass Art Society to continue its key role in the glass field.
Read about the action-packed schedule of live and prerecorded events here.