Celebrating 10 Years of Collaboration: New Kids Design Glass Exhibition

Open at Museum of Glass with Fresh Gang of Creatures on January 17, 2015 

Tacoma, Wash. — Donut Ninja, Pig in a Blanket, and Blinky the Crab are just a few of the most recent Kids Design Glass™ creatures set to unite for the interactive, collaborative exhibition Kids Design Glass Too at Museum of Glass (MOG) from January 17 through July 12, 2015.

The Museum’s ongoing Kids Design Glass (KDG) program began in 2004, encouraging children ages 12 and under to submit whimsical drawings. The MOG Hot Shop Team selects one design approximately once a month, transforming it into a glass sculpture with the help of the young designer’s input. Following the popular 2009-2011 Kids Design Glass exhibition at MOG, this sequential display of 28 Kids Design Glass sculptures created in the Hot Shop over the last four years will offer visitors another chance to experience a fun, creative and youthful genre of glass art that draws directly from the
uninhibited imaginations of children, who come from many different backgrounds.

“Children from all walks of life have participated in Kids Design Glass, including children from the foster care system, migrant families, military families, those with health issues and child interpreters for their non-English speaking families. Recently, the program expanded to include partnerships with Tacoma’s sister city of Biot, France, as well as the Shanghai Museum of Glass. For many children, the experience is transformative,” notes Bonnie Wright, Curator of Education and Community Engagement at Museum of Glass. Kids Design Glass Too, which celebrates 10 years of collaboration between children, the Museum’s Hot Shop Team and guest gaffers, will be a first-time experience for both new and returning visitors, as some of the 28 KDG creatures have never before been seen by the public. The exhibition will also reveal new creative elements not featured in the KDG show of 2009. 

Next year’s exhibition will include a new selection of dioramas featuring environments for KDG pieces, created by local high school students, and an interactive play area for children, who will have the opportunity to dress as their favorite Kids Design Glass sculptures and build environments for themselves. Kids can also look forward to reading glassy books, such as Elena’s Serenade, Glassigator and Paperweight Pals, and creating Kids Design Glass drawings of their own.

“Museum of Glass exists to serve the public through educational and creative experiences, and Kids Design Glass has been an intrinsic part of this mission for the past 10 years,” states Executive Director of Museum of Glass, Susan Warner. “This new exhibition will appeal to visitors of all ages, inspiring the young to discover their inner artist and the more mature to reconnect with their creative, playful side, all the while learning about the limitless possibilities of glass as art.”

And no Kids Design Glass Too exhibition would be complete without demonstrations in the Hot Shop. For the duration of the show, the Museum’s Hot Shop Team will offer visitors the opportunity to see the creative process behind the KDG glass sculptures as they bring new creatures to life on the Hot Shop floor. Kids Design Glass will take place in the Hot Shop on January 18, March 1, March 29 and April 26, 2015.

Kids Design Glass Too adoption opportunities are available for those wishing to support the upcoming exhibition. Currently, all 28 KDG sculptures can be sponsored online for $1,000 each. Kids Design Glass Too donors will receive recognition on their adopted creature’s display label in the Museum and will also be invited to a Spring Sponsor Soiree. Sponsorship opportunities are available at
www.biddingforgood.com/museumofglassWA/kidsdesignglass, now through January 15, 2015.