Hacer nuevo el vidrio o el nuevo vidrio no es nuevo

This essay focuses on the transformational project New Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, a series of exhibitions and publications (1959 – present day) that has significantly shaped the landscape of glass as an artist’s material. New Glass offers an excellent case study of the interactions between institutions and artists, demonstrating a mode of collaboration that places the museum at the center of creative change, ultimately building opportunities both for the institution and the artists. This essay discusses the origins of New Glass as a concept, the four major New Glass undertakings and their impacts, along with the characteristics of the special New Glass process. It concludes with a vision of applying the artist-centered approach of New Glass to museums across genres that are attempting engage with communities of all sorts.