Museum of Glass

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Bridge of Glass and glass blowing (cone) building

The Museum of Glass (MoG) is a museum dedicated to the medium of glass art located in Tacoma, Washington. It is not to be confused with the various other Museums of Glass, such as the one in Corning, New York, as the museum focuses on Contemporary and Pacific Northwest glass-art.

The Tacoma area was selected in part because it is the hometown of legendary glass artist Dale Chihuly. The museum, designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, opened in July of 2002 and is located near the University of Washington Tacoma in downtown. The museum is linked to downtown Tacoma via the The Bridge of Glass. The bridge consists of thousands of glass-art masterpieces created by Chihuly to make up the Venetian Wall, Seaform Pavilion and Crystal Towers.

The museum exhibits a conical building, which houses the glass blowing demonstrations. There were also several other outdoor exhibits including the Water Forest (damaged), reflecting pools and a waterfront promenade.

The museum also offers free public 802.11G wifi. The SSID is MOG-Public with no encryptioin.

1 Mission
2 History
3 Live Glassmaking in the Hot Shop Amphitheater
4 Visiting Artist Program
5 Support MoG
6 Address
7 External links

[edit] Mission

The Museum of Glass provides a dynamic learning environment to appreciate the medium of glass through creative experiences, collections and exhibitions.

[edit] History

It began in August of 1992 in the course of a conversation between two friends, Phil Phibbs, who had recently retired as president of the University of Puget Sound and artist Dale Chihuly who had grown up in a neighborhood near the campus and had attended the university. Dr. Phibbs suggested that Tacoma should have a glass museum. He reasoned that artists from the Pacific Northwest had played a major role in the Studio Glass Movement as it developed around the world. In particular, Dale Chihuly had influenced the movement significantly, first through his personal artistry and then through the Pilchuck Glass School, which he had founded in the early 1970s with Anne and John Hauberg.

A few weeks later, Phil Phibbs outlined his idea and the rationale for a glass museum to the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, a group of business and governmental leaders. He fully expected to be politely dismissed. Instead, he was invited to stay for the next presentation. It was a plan for the redevelopment of the Thea Foss Waterway, which at the time was an empty industrial wasteland along a narrow channel of water so polluted that it qualified as a federal Superfund clean-up site. The Chairman of the Council, George Russell, concluded that the idea of a glass museum coincided quite beautifully with the need for a dynamic anchor tenant on the restored waterway.

It was serendipitous that the ideas to build a glass museum and redevelop the Thea Foss Waterway coincided to become a civic undertaking. Now the Museum is part of a larger cultural district, but it was ten years of visionary leadership, energy and hard work that made the dreams of a revitalized waterway a reality.

By the mid-1990s, the vision for the Museum had become more focused. The site for the Museum along the Thea Foss Waterway was secured from the City of Tacoma. Although initially the Museum focused exclusively on Dale Chihuly, the artist himself insisted that the Museum should expand its mission to include works in glass by artists worldwide. This proved to be a practical shift as Tacoma met its goal of recognizing its native son with the spectacular Chihuly Bridge of Glass, and the Museum was able to broaden its appeal by honoring international artists. In the late 1990s, the mission was again refined to specify that the medium of glass would be presented within the context of contemporary art.

Jane and George Russell, co-chairs of the Museum’s founding Board of Trustees, invited individuals, corporations and foundations from around the world to join them in creating one of the most distinctive and beautiful institutions in the world. As the century turned, the Museum passed major milestones. In September 1997, Canadian architect Arthur Erickson unveiled the Museum’s design concept, which included an iconic, tilted cone. Josi Callan began as director in January 2000. Construction began in June 2000. The steel frame of the cone was completed in March 2001 and the Chihuly Bridge of Glass was underway by July of that year. Both the Museum of Glass and the adjoining Chihuly Bridge of Glass opened to thousands of visitors and worldwide accolades on July 6, 2002.

Although some of the original ideas about the Museum changed over time, many of the initial elements remained constant. The concept of a large glass studio, where visitors could watch artists create art from molten glass, was an integral part of the original plan —and the Hot Shop Amphitheater, located inside the 90-foot tall steel cone, fulfills that description today. The Museum was envisioned as a center that would nurture artists, celebrate the dramatic new Studio Glass movement and encourage creativity. This vision is realized through the exhibitions in the galleries, the art installations on the outdoor plazas, the hands-on art studio, and the Museum’s diverse educational programs, as well as the Hot Shop.

Today, the Museum’s stainless steel cone serves as a beacon to a stunning contemporary art museum as well as a symbol for the restoration of a waterway and the revitalization of a city. Home

[edit] Live Glassmaking in the Hot Shop Amphitheater

In the hot shop amphitheater, visitors can observe the process of creating works of art from molten glass. From the amphitheater, the audience sees an authentic artistic process: real artists engaged in real creative projects.

[edit] Visiting Artist Program

The Museum’s Visiting Artist Program invites internationally known artists and emerging artists from the region and around the world to work with the Museum’s resident Hot Shop Team to explore, invent and create with glass. The museum gives artists an opportunity to experiment and push the limits of their work. Offering a diverse mixture of culture, style, focus and expertise, each artist creates a sense of excitement and wonder, giving you the rare opportunity to witness professionals making art.

The Museum invites artists for week-long residencies (usually Wednesday-Sunday) and shorter residencies (usually Mondays and Tuesdays in the summer and Fridays the rest of the year).

Visiting Artists have included Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, Martin Blank, Ginny Ruffner, Marvin Lipofsky, Dante Marioni and Maya Lin.

[edit] Support MoG

The Museum of Glass is a young institute and with the current economic climate financial support is needed. If you are a follow glass lover or wish to see this fine museum grow, consider making a contribution.