BRITISH GLASS
FOUNDATION
The 2021 International Festival of Glass has been postponed due to the Covid to 25 – 29 August 2022.
Updates and details here:
International Festival of Glass 2022
2019 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GLASS
23 – 26 August 2019
Phew – what a weekend! No doubt the full review of another spectacular International Festival of Glass will be made public just as soon as the dust settles and someone gets chance to write it, but for our part we have an on-site resumé from our own Allister Malcolm who was at WHCmog for the duration. Allister estimates we averaged over 400 visitors per day and informs us that everyone to a soul was complimentary about everything on the site.
We were also delighted to welcome The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London https://www.glass-sellers.co.uk and we thank them for their continuing support. Simon Bruntnell https://www.bruntnell-astley.com was kept busy with sales and information and our glorious volunteers pulled out all the stops in producing a mountain of cake, of which Allister tells us: ‘I sampled a few pieces and understand why folk kept coming back day after day just for the cake and the welcoming atmosphere – I have to say it was awesome. We have a bunch of stars there led by Julie Nicholls!’
Our local MP Mike Wood (Dudley South) took a short tour on the Friday and was evidently impressed. Mike already knows he is a welcome visitor through our doors at any time and it was particularly good to greet him on such an auspicious occasion.
As for the gallery space, well, if a picture paints a thousand words then a short video speaks volumes. Take a look at this impressive video by Allister that shows our pop up exhibition; at a little over 4 minutes long, it manages to say it all:-
By the time the next IFoG roadshow rolls around in a couple of years from now we are confident that we will be in a position to participate fully with what will by then be our spangly-new fully-fitted museum, thanks to you all for helping us get there.
International Festival of Glass 2019 – Events at White House Cone
Herewith the latest list of proposed events at White House Cone from 23rd to 26th August 2019 courtesy of Allister Malcolm …
On the ground floor
The British Glass Foundation has received numerous donations, which have been generously donated with the permission to sell in order to raise vital funds. These items of Glass and Specialist Books will be on display and available to purchase. Meanwhile the BGF volunteers will be providing refreshments on a daily basis.
Exhibition: ‘We Made It (at the WHC)’
Artists based here at the White House Cone Museum of Glass teamed up to put on a display of their latest creations. This includes the following artists …
Darren Weed – of DWGlass shows his latest graal pieces with intricate illustrations encapsulated within the glass. Darren has now developed a beautiful range of unique pieces with a strong aesthetic running throughout his collection.
Madeleine Hughes – a recent graduate from the University of Wolverhampton who joined the hot glass studio almost a year ago. Her skills have been progressing at quite a pace and her latest pieces really show off her talent.
Terri Malcolm – produces all of her pieces using reclaimed and recycled material. All the glass elements have been very cleverly recycled from offcuts in the glass studio and these are then combined with mixed media. Each piece is a true one off as a result.
Allister Malcolm – the resident glass artist here at WHC showcases some of his latest sculptural one-offs.
Demonstrations
The hot glass studio will be open and demonstrations will take place from 10:30am – 5:30pm.
23rd – 26th August.
Walk
Graham Fisher MBE will be giving a guided canal walk on the Friday 23 August that will conclude at WHC.
Tales From The Barn; the musings of a Black Country ex-pat now domiciled on the Welsh border, is the latest work penned by Graham Fisher and will be officially launched at IFoG at 11.30am on Friday 23rd at a special festival price. This is Graham’s 5th book launch at 5 successive festivals and, as usual, a contribution will be made to BGF.
At the end of each day a BGF update on the museum’s development will take place in the studio at 6 p.m. with an opportunity for Q&As.
The museum main doors will be open 10:00am – 6:00pm and the Hot Glass studio will open its back doors at 9:00am daily for those who would appreciate the opportunity to preview items coming out of the lehr whilst they are still warm.
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International Festival of Glass 2017
During the August Bank holiday everyone at the White House Cone Museum of glass Enjoyed the International Festival of Glass and it has been an exciting showcase of exhibitions, lectures and activities. Officially opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Dudley on the 23rd of August Our Museum played host to thousands of welcome visitors over the course of the long weekend
As entertainment Allister invited a number of glassmakers into his studio to make all sorts of wonderful items to raise funds for the BGF at Fieldings Auctioneers in March 2018 -please check back soon for further details
Loving Cup Design Challenge
Over the Weekend visitors were invited to design their own Loving Cup to echo the theme of the festival – Glass For Good
There were many interesting and varied drawings to choose from and the glass making team gathered on the sunday evening to choose which to create. The final design chosen was drawn by Alex Haden which pays tribute to his schools motto which encourages people to “Overcome Evil With Good”
Alex's Loving Cup Design
Many thanks to Alex for his wonderful design and to all those who participated!
British Glass Biennale
Here is a local news segment featuring the BGFs very own resident glass maker Allister Malcolm
There were many stories from the festival and we have had some very positive feedback about the museum from visitors seeing it for the first time and from those who have seen it rise from the ruins of an old glass factory. None of the events would have been possible without the greatly appreciated help of the volunteers on site greeting visitors with a smile and helping make the festival a success.
