The Corning Museum of Glass Announces StudioNEXT

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) today announced StudioNEXT, a visionary project that will significantly expand the capacity of The Studio, the Museum's renowned glassmaking facility for education and residencies. Through a capital campaign that has now entered its public phase-having already achieved more than 80 percent of the $53.5M project-CMoG will transform The Studio into the preeminent international center for artists and students working in glass.

StudioNEXT is CMoG's largest and most forward-looking initiative since the 2015 opening of its Contemporary Art + Design Wing. The Studio's expansion redoubles CMoG's support for artists who are innovating in glass, as well as students of all ages and all skill levels. The project will enhance the facilities of The Studio, including the creation of the only facility in North America for creating large-scale works in cast glass; expand the glassmaking education program; offer expanded residency opportunities; and serve more visitors each day-underscoring the importance of glass as a major medium for contemporary artistic practice.

"StudioNEXT signals an increased commitment by CMoG to be an incubator for artistic creation and an international center for glassworking education," said Karol Wight, President and Executive Director, The Corning Museum of Glass. "We will be able to significantly expand our reach and meet the needs of glassmakers at all levels-from established artists who need access to our large-scale annealers to visitors having their first Make Your Own Glass experience. We will also continue to provide these artists with access to our unparalleled collection of 50,000 objects covering 35 centuries of glass, and the Rakow Research Library, the foremost library dedicated to glass."

CMoG, the world's leading center for the interpretation, study, preservation, and creation of works of art in glass, established The Studio in 1996. The Studio offers instruction across a spectrum of techniques and skill levels, hosts residencies for artists, and provides rentals of furnace, kiln, and cold-working spaces and equipment, along with a variety of other special programs.

"Since The Studio was founded nearly three decades ago, we have engaged with glassmakers of all levels, from those holding a blowpipe for the first time to celebrated artists who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary art in glass," said Amy Schwartz, the Director of The Studio of The Corning Museum of Glass. "Our vision to create an artistic and educational community that would help glass artists realize the beauty, wonder, and creativity of studio glass succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. That we have now grown beyond the capabilities and capacity of our current facilities speaks to the power of our mission and vision. I am overjoyed that StudioNEXT will allow us to reach so many more established, emerging, and potential glassmakers."

StudioNEXT will more than double The Studio's footprint, expanding from 24,000 to 60,000 sq. ft. within the existing 1950s building, which has a storied history as the home of the product testing lab for Pyrex and many other iconic Corning consumer products. The expansion will allow CMoG to:

• become the only facility in North America for artists to cast glass on a monumental scale and an important center for teaching large-scale casting techniques
• give artists unprecedented opportunities to push boundaries and establish new frontiers of glassmaking by upgrading The Studio facilities by providing a new technology center with next-generation equipment, including CNC machines, 3-D printers, neon-making facilities, a mold shop, a metal shop, and a wood shop to support glassworking
• introduce a two-year, non-degree program offering intensive training in glassmaking and professional development opportunities to 12 students annually, outside a formal BFA or MFA program
• create a new Residency Center in The Studio, where artists will be encouraged to conceptualize and experiment with new techniques and forms to push their practice in new direction
• increase the number of Artists-in-Residence (AiR) The Studio can accommodate annually and extend residency duration for participants in the world-renowned program
• scale up its Make Your Own Glass experience for Museum visitors by expanding the number of participants each day and the number of available slots for coldworking, mold-making, and engraving, among other activities

"We're thrilled to be able to extend access to more people, as they come to appreciate this remarkable material. But what excites me most are the possibilities that this expansion unlocks by providing the environment, the access to knowledge and resources, and the opportunities for creative collisions between artists, designers, scientists, and engineers," said Jeff Evenson, chairman of the board of The Corning Museum of Glass and chief strategy officer for Corning Incorporated. "Just like the scientists up at Sullivan Park who have only begun to scratch the surface of what's possible with glass technologies, we know that artists and designers are creating new forms of glass art that we can't even conceive of."

In recognition of the economic impact of CMoG's expansion project on the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions, New York State has granted the Museum $4 million in funding for the project through the Southern Tier Soaring Upstate Revitalization Initiative. StudioNEXT will create dozens of additional full-time jobs in the Southern Tier and is anticipated to attract significant additional tourism. By the end of the decade, the Museum is estimated to generate an annual economic impact of $12M.

"We are immensely grateful to Corning Incorporated for their in-kind commitment to upgrade the infrastructure of The Studio's facilities, to the State of New York for supporting this project with generous grants, and to our lead donors: Wendell Weeks and Kim Frock, Jim Flaws and Marcia Weber, Jake Price, John and Deb Gross, and Cheryl Saban of the Saban Foundation," said Wight. "On behalf of the entire CMoG community, I thank these early investors in StudioNEXT for helping us to reach today's milestone of beginning construction and launching our public campaign."