Glass Art Universe, put together by the prestigious Glass Art Society, is coming to St Pete. March 28-30th. Approximately 1,000 members of the Seattle-based Glass Art Society will take over St Pete for a truly special event. DMG School Project will be there and we hope to see as many of you as possible!
What Is The Glass Art Society?
The Glass Art Society is an international non-profit organization founded in 1971 whose purpose is to encourage excellence, to advance education, to promote the appreciation and development of the glass arts, and to support the worldwide community of artists who work with glass. The membership of the Glass Art Society (GAS) is over 2,200 strong from 47 countries around the world.
Communications Manager Tess McShane said, “We do this annually for our membership, so all these glass artists can come together – it’s almost like a glass reunion”. The theme for this year’s Glass Art Universe is Charting a Course: Vision in Glass.
While the Glass Art Universe event is a place for members to meet up and grow, the event is open to the public as well. This offers a unique opportunity for St Pete natives to immerse themselves in the world of glass art, a rare but growing industry.
Why Did The Glass Art Society Choose St. Pete?
Over the past ten years, St Pete has solidified itself as one of the premier glass art cities in the world. In fact, according to Visit St. Pete/Clearwater statistics, more than 20 percent of visitors to the area come for the museums, galleries, and theaters. Duncan McClellan, owner, and artist at Duncan McClellan Gallery and DMG School Project has led the glass art renaissance that has taken St Pete. by storm. The Duncan McClellan Gallery was one of the first tenants of the Warehouse Arts District nearly 10 years ago, an area now buzzing with glass art enthusiasts.
Fast-forward to present days and the gallery now has artwork on display from 60+ artists and is growing more and more every day. In an effort to build awareness about glass art, Duncan started a website to find every spot in the country that is dedicated to contemporary glass art. Take a look, a glass art gallery might be just around the corner: https://glasscoast.com/
Why You Should Attend The Glass Art Universe
All demonstrations will be open to the public, space permitting, with the purchase of a Local Day Pass. You can purchase your Local Day Pass for $150 at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront Hotel, the conference’s headquarters. Attendees will be dazzled by live art blowing demonstrations and will get to peek into the minds of some of the world’s most creative artists. Other benefits of attending include:
- Networking opportunities to further your career
- Learning new techniques and creative processes that are being used around the world
- Discovering emerging glass artists
- Identifying where the future of glass art is headed
- Seizing a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience such a prestigious and rare event
We are thrilled to be a part of Glass Art Universe and hope to see you there! Interested in other events like this? Check them out here.
