Expanding Where it Matters Most
2026 Museum of Glass Capital Project
Since its founding nearly 25 years ago, Museum of Glass has become a cultural icon in the Pacific Northwest, and a place where imagination, artistry, and innovation thrive.
Featuring the West Coast’s largest and most active glass studio, the Museum has a reputation for hosting impactful and engaging artist residencies, organizing and exhibiting nationally traveling exhibitions, and creating unique education programs for visitors, all while building a growing permanent collection.
Now, it is time to embrace a larger role for Museum of Glass—a role that showcases the Pacific Northwest’s prominence in the history of glass and tells a more complete story of the art form. Museum of Glass must elevate its impact on its visitors, its community, and its artists. Stated simply, it must expand where it matters most.
In the second quarter of 2026, Museum of Glass will begin construction on the first capital renovation project in its history.
This project is informed by years of experience and insight into what the Museum’s constituents need and expect from the institution. It is inspired by an obligation to seize key opportunities. Finally, it is guided by the belief that art is more essential today than ever.
The project’s vision is shaped by key considerations:
Museum of Glass needs to modernize, improve, and expand its gallery spaces to present a more thorough, interdisciplinary perspective on the art form, celebrate its pioneering artists, and exhibit more work from emerging and established artists. The Museum has years of visitor feedback that indicates the public wants more — more art, more space, and more learning opportunities within its galleries.
A foundational component of this expansion is a new immersive gallery dedicated to the Lino Tagliapietra collection—175 works recently gifted to the Museum from the artist. Telling the story of the world’s foremost glassblower will secure Museum of Glass as a destination glass experience, as it will be the only gallery of its kind in the United States.
The time is now. Museum of Glass is strongly positioned for success, with a talented and experienced team, sustainable operations, and a healthy income statement and balance sheet.
This capital investment builds on what makes Museum of Glass distinctive and relevant, ensuring it remains an inspiring resource for the city of Tacoma, the Pacific Northwest, and audiences around the world for the next 25 years and beyond. It will advance the Museum’s mission to ignite creativity, fuel discovery, and enrich lives through glass and glassmaking, and make its community stronger.
About the Project
To improve the Museum’s gallery spaces and develop the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery, building renovations are required.
The Museum’s theater will be converted into additional gallery space to make room for rotating exhibitions. Existing gallery space will be upgraded to display the Lino Tagliapietra collection in the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery. While the Museum builds the Tagliapietra gallery, it will also improve the infrastructure in all gallery spaces. This includes:
New state-of-the-art lighting
Sophisticated casework
Interactive audio/visual components
Improved environmental controls
Enhanced visitor flow and modernized design
New on-site storage to facilitate Permanent Collection growth
Additional aesthetic improvements
Further improvements to the Museum to support the new and upgraded gallery spaces include:
Reconfigure the Museum Grand Hall and its adjacencies to elevate art display capabilities
Relocate Museum internal workshops (wood shop, metal shop) and non-art storage to garage level
Convert main level back of house space to collection storage
Perform substructure work to support additions and to protect the site
Construction is expected to take about six months, during which time Museum of Glass traditional gallery spaces will be closed. The Hot Shop, smaller exhibitions, and educational programming will continue throughout construction.
Read below about Lino Tagliapietra at Museum of Glass and the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery.
Lino Tagliapietra at his final blow in the United States. March 2023. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Capital Project Frequently Asked Questions
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Museum of Glass will be open with regular hours during construction. The Museum’s non-gallery spaces will operate without disruption. Much of the work will take place in the evening. The Hot Shop will host its full lineup of Visiting Artists and the Education Studio will continue to offer workshops, Family Days, and other programming. The Museum Store and Museum Cafe will be open.
The Museum will also use the Grand Hall space to hold smaller exhibitions. During select weeks throughout the summer, the Museum hopes to park the Mobile Hot Shop on the Grand Plaza in front of the Museum and offer additional workshops.
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The renovation will begin as early as April 2026. The work will continue until late summer/early fall. When the renovation is finished, the Museum’s Curatorial Team will need additional time to refill the galleries. The Museum will provide periodic updates regarding the timeline for reopening the gallery spaces.
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The Museum will host various events in conjunction with the reopening of the galleries and the opening of the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery. More details to come.
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Museum of Glass member benefits remain the same. The Museum is actively working to develop additional member offerings and perks during this period of transition. Stay tuned for communications from our Membership Department. Please direct any questions to athomson@museumofglass.org.
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The design work was completed by James Carpenter Design Associates and Studio Unseen Light PLLC. The Museum’s architect is Bassetti Architects and its general contractor is BNBuilders.
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The project budget is roughly $25M. To date, about two-thirds of that amount has been raised through individuals, foundations, and government sources. Fundraising for the project is ongoing and the Museum of Glass community is invited to participate. To learn more about how to get involved, please contact the Museum Development Department at development@museumofglass.org.
Conceptual Renderings
A Transformational Gift
Museum of Glass became a collecting institution in 2007. Since that time, it has built a significant collection of works by artists who have completed residencies in the Hot Shop, glass pieces that document the Studio Glass movement, contemporary glass, and nineteenth- and early twentieth-century glass produced in factories in the United States and Europe. However, the Museum’s collection has not yet been able to tell a sufficiently comprehensive story of glass and the Pacific Northwest’s critical role in its advancement. Until now.
Lino Tagliapietra, the world’s most renowned living glass maestro, has generously gifted 175 works and installations from his archival collection to Museum of Glass.
Revered around the globe for his incredible manipulation of the material and his innovative creations, Tagliapietra has defined American glassblowing since coming to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s. No other artist can rival his impact on the field as a maestro, teacher, and mentor. Out of all the museums in the United States, Tagliapietra chose Museum of Glass in Tacoma to display his archive and to tell his legacy story.
This is the most important acquisition in the Museum’s history, and one that will celebrate the region and the art form. The archival collection includes pieces created over the years Tagliapietra spent in the Pacific Northwest dating back to the mid-nineties. It will transform the Museum’s collection, propel it among the foremost glass museums in the world, and cement its status as a destination glass art experience while increasing tourism dollars and educational opportunities.
“Lino’s impact on glass cannot be overstated. Since his first visit to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s, he has changed how glassmakers pursue and view the material. His passion and curiosity are boundless, and his depth of knowledge and skill working with hot glass is unmatched. He shared that with anyone who was willing to watch, listen, and understand what he was doing. This changed the face of the American Studio Glass movement.”
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Pago-Pago, 2009. Glass; 22 1/4 × 9 1/4 × 5 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Emerald City, 2018. Glass. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
The Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery
To celebrate the collection and provide visitors with a comprehensive story of glass, Museum of Glass will build the immersive new Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery.
It will be the only permanent gallery in the United States dedicated to Tagliapietra’s extraordinary work across his entire career—from his roots in Murano, Italy, to a focus on the 45 transformative years he spent in the Pacific Northwest, where he inspired and mentored three generations of artists.
Within the new gallery, emerging artists will continue to learn from the charismatic maestro as they find their own path. And, with the scale of this collection and the ability to refresh the exhibition over time, the opportunities to serve audiences within the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery are immense and promise to keep visitors invested year after year. By ensuring Tagliapietra’s collection is always accessible, the gallery will address the Museum’s central goal to provide the public with deeper experiences with glass.
The Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery will be approximately 4,000 square feet and allow for more than 50 pieces to be on view at any time. The debut exhibition in the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery will be Lino Tagliapietra: Maestro.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Fenice, 2011. Glass; 26 × 13 3/4 × 5 1/4 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
“Having a space at Museum of Glass dedicated to Lino’s incredible journey — his generous sharing of technique, and his rich culture — is more than just appropriate. It is a way that we can honor his legacy and preserve that inherited knowledge for future generations of glassmakers, artists, and anyone who wants to learn more about glass and its boundless limits.”
Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery
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Opening Fall 2026
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Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery — Opening Fall 2026 —
Works from the Lino Tagliapietra Collection
Lino Tagliapietra and Museum of Glass
Museum of Glass is foundational to glass in the Pacific Northwest, and is therefore best positioned to tell this story and affirm the region’s leadership in the art form.
Additionally, its long and fruitful collaboration with the maestro makes the Museum the ideal and rightful home for his archival collection. Tagliapietra completed 19 residencies in the Museum Hot Shop and led numerous appearances to standing-room-only audiences, delighting thousands of visitors both in-person and around the world through the livestream. Over the years, the Museum has organized and hosted several installations and three major exhibitions of Tagliapietra’s work:
Lino Tagliapietra: In Retrospect, a Modern Renaissance in Italian Glass (2008)
Maestro: Recent Works by Lino Tagliapietra (2012)
Celebrating Lino Tagliapietra (2014).
In Retrospect traveled to Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Flint Institute of Art, which helped drive broader recognition for the artist.
Washington State honored Lino with a prestigious Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award in 2023.
“For some reason, my hands stay a little bit light.”
Lino final blow in the United States. Museum of Glass, 2023.
Lino in the Museum Hot Shop, 2017.
About Lino Tagliapietra
Lino Tagliapietra was born on the Island of Murano in Italy, known for its extensive and ancient glassmaking traditions.
He entered the glass industry at age 11 as an apprentice in the workshop of Archimede Serguso. Following this, Lino continued to work with several significant glass masters, further refining his skills. These include some of the most accomplished glass makers of the day, including Galliano Ferro. By his early twenties, Lino was awarded the title of maestro, usually reserved for only the most seasoned of glassmakers. In the mid-1960s, Lino began developing his own designs, using his spare time to explore his unique creativity. Some of these concepts went into production while Lino worked at La Murrina glassworks. His career advanced further when he joined Effetre International, where he served as the company’s chief glass blower and designer.
In 1979, Lino was recommended by his brother-in-law, Checco Ongaro, to American glass artist Benjamin Moore at the burgeoning Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, as a visiting/teaching artist. Lino traveled to Washington State with his tools and demonstrated the masterful application of Italian techniques, becoming a cornerstone of the American Studio Glass Movement and its subsequent worldwide reach. Lino returned to Pilchuck regularly throughout the 1980s — teaching, mentoring, and forming friendships with significant local artists, including Dale Chihuly, Richard Marquis, and Dante Marioni. The freedom of artistic and cultural expression in America provided Lino with the environment to explore and develop his remarkable and endless inventiveness, earning him recognition as one of the world’s best glass sculptors.
In the late eighties, through the mid-nineties, he worked for Dale Chihuly, leading a team of prominent glassblowers, including William Morris, Martin Blank, and Richard Royal, further cementing his key role in the expansion of glass as a desirable expressive material. By the end of the nineties, Lino no longer worked for other artists but began to concentrate solely on producing his own art.
Museum of Glass became Lino's home base in the early 21st century. He loved melding his team with the Museum’s Hot Shop staff and creating a dynamic visitor experience. Each of his 19 residencies was recorded, capturing his expert manipulation of technique for future generations to learn from.
Lino Tagliapietra with John Kiley
Lino Tagliapietra in the Hot Shop with Museum of Glass gaffer Gabe Feenan.
Become Part of Our Legacy
Our vision to build new, state-of-the-art galleries and the Lino Tagliapietra Legacy Gallery requires transformational philanthropy to succeed, and the Museum is still in the process of fundraising for the project.
Our community has been a central voice in bringing us to this moment. We look to you now as our most important partner – one who deeply appreciates Museum of Glass as a pillar of the Pacific Northwest cultural landscape and keenly understands the urgency to make this institution more vibrant and elevate its impact. This is an opportunity for visionary donors to become a part of our legacy and ensure its prominence for generations to come.
To learn more about how to get involved, please contact the Museum of Glass Development Department at development@museumofglass.org.
Lino Tagliapietra in the Museum Hot Shop, 2023. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Press Inquiries
Press requests for information, high-resolution images, b-roll footage, or interview opportunities should be directed to Tim Butler, Marketing and Communications Director, at tbutler@museumofglass.org or 253.284.4732.
Current Press Releases
Artwork Image Credits (in slideshow)
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Angel Tear, 1999. Blown glass with multicolored canes, turned axis; 35 1/2 × 11 1/2 × 5 1/4 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Fuji, 2012. Blown murrine glass; 26x 13 1/4 x 7 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Dinosaur, 2003. Glass; 51 1/4 × 20 × 11 1/4 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Piccadilly, 2007. Blown glass with incalmi and half-filigree; 20 × 19 × 8 3/4 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Poesia, 2017. Blown glass; 18 1/2 x 14 x 6 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Kookaburra, 2013. Glass; 28 × 31 1/4 × 13 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Osaka, 2011. Blown murrine glass; 18 × 11 × 11 1/4 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Foemina, 2002. Glass; 21 1/2 × 10 × 7 1/2 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Seattle, 2000. Glass; 14 × 11 1/4 × 5 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.
Lino Tagliapietra (Italian, born 1934). Silea, 2000. Glass; 20 1/4 × 11 3/4 × 8 inches. Courtesy of Lino Tagliapietra, Inc. Photo by Russell Johnson.