International Festival of Glass

2015 British Glass Biennale

The 2015 British Glass Biennale was once again a unique showcase of the work of 76 artists, designers and craftspeople exhibiting 122 pieces of work. All selected artists had been living and working for the previous two years in the UK or Northern Ireland, but many originated from across the globe, including Costa Rica, South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Germany and Japan as well as glass artists living and working in the historic Stourbridge Glass Quarter. The pieces embraced a vast range of glassmaking techniques including blown, kiln formed, slumped and engraved glass with pure clean crystal through to opaque vessels and pieces featuring surface painting and glass inclusions. Submissions ranged from the miniature to large scale installations.

British Glass Biennale Jury 2015

Janice Blackburn: Freelance Curator and Journalist of contemporary craft and design.
Graham Fisher: Glass Historian and Author
Mark Holford: Private Glass Collector
David Reekie: Glass Artist
Jonathan Watkins: Director, Ikon Gallery

Appointed Chair of the Jury panel: Mark Holford

Matt Durran: British Glass Biennale, Exhibition Organiser & Curator

Kate Goldenberg: British Glass Biennale, Biennale Coordinator

Awards

British Glass Biennale Award for Best in Show: Ashraf Hanna, Untitled 1
Glass Sellers’ Art & Craft Award: Ruth Shelley, Indian Intarsia
Glass Sellers’ Art & Craft Award, Runner Up: Nicholas Collins, Tumbling Blocks Charcoal
Glass Sellers’ Art & Craft Student Award: Haley Haddow, Orinoco Flow 1
Glass Sellers’ Art & Craft Student Award, Runner Up: Deborah Martin, Nude
Art in Action Award for Contemporary Glass: Margaret Alston, Large White Pâte de Verre, relief bands
craft&design magazine Award: Elliot Walker, Still Life with a Lime
craft&design magazine Highly Commended: Alicja Patanowska, Stratum VI / 2014. Photo: Sylvain Deleu
The London Glassblowers’ Award for Emerging Talent: Harry Morgan, Entropy Study 3 and Cara Louise Walker, Aphasia
The National Glass Centre’s Emerging Artist Residency Prize: Choi Keeryong, Korean Glass 24
The People’s Prize, Warm Glass UK

2015 Artists

* indicates a student entry.

Karen Akester
Margaret Alston
Jenny Ayrton*
Emma Baker*
Vic Bamforth
Eddie Belvedere*
Scott Benefield
Juli Bolaños-Durman
Dan Bowran*
Karen Browning
Edmond Byrne
Keeryong Choi
Katharine Coleman
Nicholas Collins
Erin E Dickson
Shirley Eccles
Rachel M Elliott
Fiaz Elson
Louis Thompson and
Hanne Enemark
Sally Fawkes and
Richard Jackson
Carrie Fertig
Corrina Field
Katya Izabel Filmus
Livvy Fink
Alec Galloway
Zoe Garner
Stephen and Kate Gilles Jones
Phoebe Gowen*
Haley Haddow*
Ashraf Hanna
Gillian Hobson
Sienna Holihan*
Ana Rosa Hopkins
Ingrid Hunter
Elin Isaksson
Max Jacquard
Shelley James
Angela Jarman
Alison Kinnaird
Emma Mackintosh
Julia Malle
Geoffrey Mann
Deborah Martin*
James Maskrey
Gayle Matthias
Helen Maurer
Faith Mercer*
Harry Morgan*
Rosa Nguyen
Linda Norris
Amanda Notarianni
Jochem Ott
Inge Panneels
Alicja Patanowska*
Jacque Pavlosky
Kevin Petrie
Bruno Romanelli
Ruth Shelley
Tao Shen*
Lisa Sheppy
Cathryn Shilling
Amanda Simmons
Ayse Simsek and Heike Brachlow
Nancy Sutcliffe
Ayako Tani
Deborah Timperley
Eliot Walker
Cara Louise Walker
Karin Walland
Surinder Warboys
Julia Williams*
Emma Woffenden

Invited artist: David Reekie

Latest

Science and Stereotypes. A discussion about Women in STEM and society

Stephanie Green, Founder of Dauntless Daughters, discusses Science and the stereotypes we perpetuate. Stephanie is a equalities activist and artist, founding Dauntless in 2016 to combat the gender imbalance in children's literature. Stephanie believes that if we start at the beginning we can clearly see how we embed social norms surrounding Women in STEM in our very youngest children. Do we as a society need to address how we create academic disciplines that are inherrently gender biased?
Light Steps

Light Steps by DancingStrong takes young audiences into the magical world of colour, music and interactive dance. Created for 2-5 year old’s Light Steps centres on the exploration of the changing light of day through the experiences of endearing rag doll, Alex. Alex’s journey is overseen by friends, dancers and a musician, whose movement, music and dance mirror the rag doll’s feelings and curiosity as the journey of the sun across the sky are experienced.
Light and Colour in Storytelling

We relate to light from the moment we enter the world until the moment we leave it - but most of us don’t give it much thought. In this talk and demonstration, award winning Theatre Lighting Designer and Director of the Program in Theatre at Princeton University, Jane Cox will investigate how emotion and perception are influenced by light and colour.
Grains of Infinty: Ruskin, Turner and the Floors of Paradise

Ruskin initially defined colour in painting as inferior to form but his long love affair with the work of Turner led him into a deeper understanding of the complexity of colour and its relation to our most profound experiences in both the natural world and human creativity. With particular emphasis on the handling of paint, Howard Hull, Director of Brantwood, explores the transformation of pigments into messengers of the soul.

Plan your visit

The International Festival of Glass takes place at venues across the Stourbridge Glass Quarter. Entry to most Festival venues is free, however some activities may incur a small charge. A Festival Pass is required for entry to Ruskin Glass Centre over the four days. A Festival Pass allows entry to lectures, demonstrations, the British Glass Biennale and other exhibitions on site, and some performances.
Hive Cafe and Bakery

The Hive Cafe and Bakery is now open! Providing a warm welcome in the heart of Birmingham's famous Jewellery Quarter, with delicious pastries, cake, bread and meals. Come and visit us. Try our coffee!
British Glass Biennale 2017

The flagship British Glass Biennale 2017 exhibition featuring work by 63 artists. Winner of Best on Show - Joseph Harrington with St Helens ii.
Why we exist
Our story

The seeds of Ruskin Mill Land Trust were sown in 1967 when Robin and Barbara Gordon transplanted their young sons Aonghus and Alisdair from the hothouse of the Ruskin Centre for Art Appreciation in Venice to the cold frame of a dilapidated former textile mill in Gloucestershire.
Freeman Biodynamic Garden at High Riggs

Located in Stannington bordering the Peak District the Freeman Biodynamic Garden provides fruit and vegetables for Freeman College, Brantwood Specialist School and the Fusion Café. Thanks to much hard work over the last three years High Riggs has been changed from a disused tree nursery to a new highly productive market garden.
Experience COLOUR Teachers Conference

A unique Teachers Conference that will contribute to your own professional development and prepare you for bringing students to the exhibition through a series of lectures, workshops, guided exhibition tours and discussion groups. The conference opens with an optional lecture on Wednsday 29 August at the Glasshouse.
Merlin Theatre

Transforming the Merlin Theatre has enriched the cultural life of Sheffield and provided cultural venue for Freeman College and Brantwood Specialist School..
Vale Head Farm

Vale Head Farm was an equestrian centre when we purchased it, and over the years hard work has seen it bloom into a beautiful biodynamic farm.
Aonghus Gordon MEd BA PGCE: Chair of Trustees

Aonghus has a distinguished track record of development and leadership of several ground-breaking charities that provide high quality environments and opportunities for people with a range of disabilities.

Conference: On the Shoulders of Giants

On the Shoulders of Giants The Legacy of Newton, Goethe and Turner Newton, Goethe and Turner are undisputed giants in the fields of science, literature and art respectively. All three strove to understand the nature of light, darkness and colour. In this two day conference at the Glasshouse in Stourbridge we will explore stages of the metamorphosis of the study of light, darkness and colour initiated by Newton. Read more

Light and Colour in Storytelling

We relate to light from the moment we enter the world until the moment we leave it - but most of us don’t give it much thought. In this talk and demonstration, award winning Theatre Lighting Designer and Director of the Program in Theatre at Princeton University, Jane Cox will investigate how emotion and perception are influenced by light and colour. Read more