SEE YOU IN BERLIN! GET READY FOR “WHERE ART + DESIGN MEET,” MAY 15–18

by Jennifer Hand

Berlin is a city synonymous with culture, from its legendary nightlife to the staggering number of museums scattered throughout its landscape. On any given day, a visitor to Berlin can view a Vermeer at the Gemäldegalerie, sip a cold craft beer while enjoying live music at one of the city’s many riverside beer gardens, explore stacks of signage at the eclectic BUCHSTABENMUSEUM, or wander the length of the East Side Gallery to take in contemporary murals painted on what remains of the Berlin Wall. This year, attendees of the 2024 Glass Art Society conference will be able to enjoy these cultural delights while also seeing a different side of the city.

On a typical Berlin afternoon near the entrance of Berlin Glas, a calico cat named Punty stalks across the courtyard, completely unperturbed by the roar of the fluffy torch behind him. The Berlin Glas studio team is busy at work bringing the fabrication dreams of a local designer to reality at Berlin’s first open-access hot shop, operating for more than twenty years under its leader and the Berlin Site Committee Chair, Nadania Idriss. Berlin Glas is only one of several cultural outlets in its vicinity. The neighboring creative campus known as Monopol is home to artist incubators, studios, galleries, and maker spaces, and recently welcomed Bard College Berlin to build its new campus on its grounds. Several spaces among Berlin Glas, Monopol, and Bard will comprise the 2024 conference’s Provinzstraße Hub, so named after the local cross street, accessible via Berlin’s plentiful public transport at the Schönholz station. From Thursday, May 16th to Saturday, May 18th, highlights of the program there will include hot glass demonstrations by Ned Cantrell, Jahday Ford, Simone Fezer, and a special guest from Netflix’s Blown Away, as well as performances by RIT Glass students led by Suzanne Peck, lecturedemos by Saman Kalantari and Anthony Amoako Attah, and a Friday “Flame Off” party inviting flameworkers from around the world to collaborate into the evening hours. The Berlin Glas team will use its years of experience offering youth programming to provide a “Kids Oasis” for youth attending the conference—a first-ofits-kind opportunity—and mobile furnaces provided by Niesenglass will be on site to demonstrate that glassy power can come in surprisingly small packages.

Less than a five-minute train ride from the action at Provinzstraße, conference attendees can enjoy the array of offerings at the central hub, Wilhelm Hallen’s Hall C. Wilhelm Hallen is a former iron foundry which now serves as an event center and creative campus. Inside Hall C, along with longstanding GAS standards like the annual exhibitions and this year’s GAS Market, visitors can find the main stage activated with daily themed interactive programming, enjoy lectures and panels, take a rest at the GAS Lounge and Charging Station, and find refreshment and entertainment just outside at the Beer Garden and Green Pavilion.

Cold working will dominate the program this year, with incredible demonstrations by the international coldworking collective The Lathe Riders serving as the centerpiece of the conference kickoff and continuing to impress throughout the week’s festivities. The main stage will feature a keynote lecture from Silvia Levenson first thing Thursday morning, and a Friday morning lecture from the Corning Museum of Glass' head buyer, Meghan Bunnell, will draw makers eager for tips on how to get their wares noticed by wholesalers.

With an all-new Film Festival and the exciting addition of a jewelry trunk show on Thursday night, every evening of this year’s conference will be full of opportunities to connect, shop, and get inspired by the kaleidoscope of ways glass manifests itself in our community. Just add a currywurst snack and a museum (or a dozen) to the itinerary, and the quintessential Berlin experience is complete—all that’s missing is you!

Jennifer Hand is the Conference + Events Manager at GAS.

Featured Artwork by Silvia Levenson.