Creative glasswork artists from all over Australia are looking with interest on a glass artworks complex planned for the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.
The prime mover behind the glasswor…
Creative glasswork artists from all over Australia are looking with interest on a glass artworks complex planned for the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. The prime mover behind the glassworks project is the success of a Glass Workshop at the School of Arts of the Australian National University. Founded in 1982 by German glassworks specialist Klaus Moje, enrolment for the workshop of about 20 (30% from overseas) produces about five graduating glassworks artists per year. The glass artists produce a huge range of artworks as feature items for building foyers, artworks for display in homes and galleries, or use as architectural elements. However, a major disadvantage for the Canberra glass artists has been the lack of glass processing facilities to support a thriving glass art industry. “As a result, many graduates have moved to establish themselves interstate or overseas where they can access specialist facilities and equipment essential for glass making, particularly large-scale kiln forming and glass blowing,” says an analysis prepared for Arts ACT, a branch of the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) government. “This loss of talented glass artists limits Canberra“s ability to derive economic benefit through market expansion and inhibits the development of Canberra“s image as a center for excellence in this industry.” To reverse the process and to attract glassworks artists to Canberra, the ACT Department of Urban Services proposes setting up a glass art production and access facility to be used by Australia“s glass artists. The facility will be located on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin as part of a cultural precinct in the Kingston Foreshore Development area, using the old Canberra powerhouse. Tenders for the refurbishing and conversion work are being invited through Melbourne“s Tendersearch. Replies are requested by 22 October 2004 to the nominated client representative, Haralambous Dowse and Associates. The facility will tackle the problem faced by glass artists: the need to use very expensive, heavy industrial equipment such as furnaces, but only on an intermittent basis, making the cost of equipping a studio difficult to justify on an individual basis. By sharing facilities, and booking them only when needed, artists will enjoy access to a wider range of equipment, which will be more intensively used. “It can cost an artist AUD 100,000 just to set up a studio,” says Richard Whiteley, the head of the Glass Workshop in the ANU School of Arts. “The main theme will be the hot glass blowing facility. It will also be a tourist destination, with short classes for high schools and others.” “Glass is a really magical material. People walk into a hot glass studio, their jaws drop. It will be a hands-on experience. Coloured glass with light shining through is quite a dynamic material.” “The thing about contemporary glass artists coming out of Australia is they are held in high regard around the world.” Glass artists may set up their own studios in Canberra, calling in at the Kingston glassworks facility for specialist processing, or visit regularly for production sessions from their home states. As well as the ANU, there are glass artwork courses at the Sydney College of the Arts, the Dandenong Road campus of Monash University in Melbourne and the Jam Factory in Adelaide.