The Museum of Glass is a museum dedicated to the medium of glass art located in Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma, Washington

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...

. It is not to be confused with the various other Museums of Glass, such as the one in Corning, New York

Corning Museum of Glass

The Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, New York, explores every facet of glass, including art, history, culture, science and technology, craft, and design....

, as the museum focuses on Contemporary and Pacific Northwest glass-art.

The museum, the brainchild of Dr. Philip M. Phibbs, was designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson

Arthur Erickson

Arthur Charles Erickson, was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:...

 and opened in July 2002. It is located on the Thea Foss Waterway and near the University of Washington Tacoma in downtown. The museum is linked to the downtown area via Bridge of Glass

Bridge of Glass

The Bridge of Glass is a pedestrian covered footbridge in Tacoma, Washington. It was opened in 2002 as a gift to the city. It links the Museum of Glass on the shorefront to the downtown area of the city, across Interstate 705, and is decorated with the artworks of Dale Chihuly....

. The bridge consists of thousands of glass-art masterpieces created by Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly

Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...

 to make up the Venetian Wall, Seaform Pavilion and Crystal Towers.

The museum exhibits a conical building, which houses the glass blowing demonstrations. The room reaches 90 feet (27.4 m) and has two furnaces reaching temperatures of 2400 °F (1,315.6 °C). There were also several other outdoor exhibits including the Water Forest (which was restored in summer 2009), reflecting pools and a waterfront promenade.

Mission

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

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 Preston Singletary

Preston Singletary

Preston Singletary is a Native American glass artist.- Biography :Preston Singletary grew up in the Seattle area listening to stories told by his great-grandparents, who were both full Tlingit. In high school he met and became friends with future glass artist Dante Marioni, son of glass artist...

, Lino Tagliapietra

Lino Tagliapietra

Lino Tagliapietra is an Italian glass artist.-Training:Tagliapietra was born on the island of Murano in 1934. Murano, an island whose history of glass dates back to 1291, provided Tagliapietra an ideal educational environment to develop his techniques and glass artistry. At the age of 12 he was...

, Ginny Ruffner

Ginny Ruffner

Ginny Ruffner is a glass artist in Seattle, Washington. She primarily uses the technique of lampworking. Her art has been featured in many museums and galleries. She was profiled on the NPR show Weekend America on 18 March 2006.-External links:* *...

, Marvin Lipofsky

Marvin Lipofsky

Marvin Lipofsky is an American glass artist. He was one of the six students that Studio Glass founder Harvey Littleton instructed under an independent study program for the University of Wisconsin-Madison in fall 1962 and spring 1963...

, Dante Marioni

Dante Marioni

Dante Marioni is an American glass artist-Biography:Dante Marioni grew up among many artistic influences. His father, Paul Marioni, was involved in the American studio glass movement and, as a result, Dante was constantly exposed to the glassblowing artists of the San Francisco Bay Area...

, Anne Wilson

Anne Wilson (artist)

Anne Wilson is a Chicago-based visual artist. Wilson creates sculpture, drawings, Internet projects, photography, performance, and DVD stop motion animations employing table linens, bed sheets, human hair, lace, thread and wire. Her work extends the traditional processes of Fiber art to other media...

, and Maya Lin

Maya Lin

Maya Ying Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Personal life:...

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