Glass has become such a common commodity it is largely taken for granted – and its use in the realms of art and design often overlooked.
The National Glass Centre in Sunderland, despite its role as an exhibition, education and research space, has experienced a drop in visitors since it first opened its doors to the public four years ago, but Chief Executive Jules Preston hopes the stability offered by a three-year funding strategy from the regional arts and city councils will enable the centre to focus on developing audiences and nurturing young artists’ talents.
‘It’s fairly traditional that visitor attractions such as the National Glass Centre open in a blaze of publicity,’ Preston observes. ‘Curiosity brings in huge numbers of people in the first year, and then it steadies out. In the first year, we had something like 200,000 visitors. Currently, it has evened out to about 60,000 to 70,000.’
‘The drop in numbers has meant some financial difficulties for the centre, and we’re currently working with the Arts Council of England to try to bolster a number of aspects.’
Officially opened in June 1998, the impressive £16 million contemporary building on the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland is the latest development in the region’s long history as a centre for glass in the UK. The first stained-glass in the country was made here in AD 674 at St Peter’s Church – now a neighbour to the National Glass Centre.
But while the centre retains the historic roots of glass in the region, it also aims to promote and develop the work of contemporary glass artists in the UK. The University of Sunderland’s Glass, Architectural Glass and Ceramics departments are located at the centre, which also houses the Institute for International Research in Glass (IIRG) – established at the same time as the centre itself.
Therefore, a new generation of young artists working with glass have the opportunity to mingle with and be taught by international glass experts in residence at the institute, such as Director Sylva Petrová from the Czech republic, and Professor Zora Palová, a leading Slovak glass artist.
But Preston notes one of the perceived problems with attracting audiences is that a large number of visitors expect an experience more akin to that of a museum – preferring to view the traditional glass artworks documenting the history of the area’s industry, rather than the centre’s national and international contemporary glass exhibitions.
‘What people expect to see is traditional glass, stained-glass, the history of glass in Sunderland. What they don’t expect is a celebration of contemporary studio-made glass,’ says Preston. ‘For many visitors, there is a feeling of disappointment. They enjoy their visit, but don’t come back. They’re not interested in the changing exhibition programme.’
Those who are interested in contemporary glass do return, Preston observes, but due to the specialist nature of the art only a certain number of people in the North East of England are interested – and they are the immediate audience.
Preston admits it has been difficult to manage cash flow, but he is hopeful a new three-year joint package from the regional arts council and city council will stabilise the centre’s financial and ultimately, creative future.
‘It has been on the brink once or twice’, Preston concedes, ‘but our stakeholders have increased their contribution for next year, and agreed on a three-year package – so now we have stability, now we can start to move on.’
The joint funding has allocated £250,000 per annum for the next three years to the centre – an increase of £100,000 per year on the previous annual budget of £150,000.
But the centre needs to sustain visitor numbers to retain financial viability, Preston realises. The last financial year saw visitor numbers reach around 75,000 – the aim is to maintain that figure or, ideally, nudge it up to 100,000.
Preston believes the up-and-coming artists currently studying at the centre through the University of Sunderland are the key to the centre’s success, however. Incubator units have been created to establish business premises for the young glassmakers, while training for technicians is about to get underway, in the hope that, in two or three years’ time, the students will be able to employ these people to develop their own businesses. In addition, there are plans to showcase some of the research underway at the centre, adding to the permanent and temporary exhibitions, and also the experiential ‘hands-on’ exhibits which have remain unchanged for four-and-a-half years (and need ‘refurbishing’, according to Preston).
‘I think our salvation is through the graduate route,’ he affirms, ‘Working with them, training them, hiring them facilities, inviting guest artists to hire out studios – because that will create a buzz about the place and bring in more visitors.’
‘Smooth Finnish’, the first of two exhibitions focussing on the distinct Finnish aesthetic, is currently showing at the National Glass Centre until February 4, 2003.
For more information visit the National Glass Centre website
