Glass Fest Northwest

Join us for the return of Glass Fest Northwest at Museum of Glass! Glass Fest Northwest puts art and the Pacific Northwest center-stage by bringing together local artists and artisans, live glassmaking demonstrations, food, drinks, music, and hands-on activities. Enjoy artist booths, food vendors, music, and more on the Museum Plaza, and explore exhibitions and installations in the Museum with FREE admission for the day.

In the Hot Shop, Glass Fest Visiting Artist Joseph Seymour, Jr. joins us in collaboration with IN THE SPIRIT Arts Market & Northwest Native Festival, held at Washington State History Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, and Museum of Glass.

Join us at Glass Fest.

By the Furnace: Hot Shop Experience Workshops

For the first time, By the Furnace workshops are available through the summer!

Here is your chance to work on the Hot Shop floor. Assisted by Hilltop Artists, these workshops feature a variety of objects, such as flowers, birds, ornaments, paperweights, and more (each workshop date will feature a specific object). As the gaffer, you will be able to choose colors, block and shape the glass, and add your own twist to the work of art.

Upcoming workshop dates:

• July 12 & 13 - Starfish

• July 19 & 20 - Floats

• August 16 & 17 - Fish

Reserve your workshop.

Visiting Artist Residency Application

Applications for the 2026 Visiting Artist Residency Program are officially live!

Each year, Museum of Glass invites artists to apply for a Visiting Artist Residency in the Hot Shop to explore new ideas and techniques or push the boundaries of a current series. Selected artists will have full use of our state-of-the-art Hot Shop and the assistance of the Museum Hot Shop Team. Applications will be selected to support a wide variety of project scopes. The application deadline is Saturday, November 1, 2025.

Learn more and submit your application.

Field Notes: Artists Observe Nature

November 16, 2024 – December, 2025

Not surprisingly, artists have looked to the natural world for inspiration for millennia. And, since the turn of the 20th century, there have been significant moments in which artists have sought to mimic the forms and patterns of nature in glass. Field Notes: Artists Observe Nature begins with works from the Art Nouveau period, roughly between 1890 and 1910, centered in France during the Belle Époque. More than a century later, contemporary glass artists have been similarly inspired by the natural world as a focus in their work. These innately curious artists have trained their prodigious skills in glass to honor the natural world; their work reminds the viewer of the marvelous phenomena outside of the studio walls.

Spotlight on Chihuly

March 30, 2024 – January 2026

Dale Chihuly’s boundless artistic vision has elevated the Pacific Northwest to an internationally acclaimed center for glassmaking. A native of Tacoma, Chihuly was one of the first Studio Glass artists to travel to the island of Murano, Italy to observe the secretive processes of Venetian glass factories. He was struck, not only by their technical prowess, but the importance of working as a team. These two ideas: experimentation to push the limits of glass, and the importance of collaboration, have had a lasting impact on Chihuly’s career and, subsequently, the culture of glassblowing in the Pacific Northwest.