Former executive director
David Whitehouse (1941-2013)
The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) recently announced a new research residency program for artists, which will allow them to utilize the Museum’s resources, including the permanent collections and the holdings of the Rakow Research Library, to inform their practice. Named for CMoG’s former executive director, The David Whitehouse Artist Residency for Research will enable artists to be in residence for up to three weeks to explore materials at the Rakow Library, the world’s foremost library on the art and history of glass and glassmaking, and to use the other extraordinary scholarly resources available at the Museum, including the knowledgeable staff who work in all parts of the organization. This residency will be focused on research, whereas CMoG’s two other residencies are geared toward artists creating new work.
“This residency is the first of its kind at The Corning Museum of Glass,” said Amy Schwartz, director of The Studio, CMoG’s internationally renowned glassmaking facility. “It was inspired by the number of artists who have told us that they want to spend time at CMoG just looking, thinking, and taking advantage of all things glass that we offer.”
The David Whitehouse Artist Residency for Research will give artists the chance to step out of their studios and spend some time studying topics they feel will further their knowledge of glass. In addition to using resources at the Rakow Library and spending time in the collection, residents will have access to the Museum’s expert curatorial and science staff members.
One resident will be selected for the first year and will be in residence for up to three weeks in 2018. While in Corning, the artist will be asked to give a presentation about their work and research. Applications for 2018 can be accessed on the CMoG website and are due by August 31, 2017. Artists who feel they would benefit from using the resources of the Rakow Library and from spending some time at The Corning Museum of Glass are encouraged to apply.
Other CMoG residencies include The Studio’s collaboration with the Kohler Arts Center to offer a joint residency for artists interested in working with glass, iron, brass, or clay; and the Specialty Glass Residency—a partnership with Corning Incorporated established in 2014—which allows artists to experiment with specialty glass materials in the creation of new work.
The Museum also offers the Rakow Grant for Glass Research, which is awarded to one or more scholars annually and fosters scholarly research in the history of glass and glassmaking from antiquity until the mid-20th century. These awards have been granted to scholars working in archaeology and anthropology, art history, conservation, and science and technology.
“This new residency will essentially serve as a Rakow Grant for glass artists,” said Karol Wight, president and executive director of CMoG. “David Whitehouse was a highly-regarded scholar and worked to build the incredible resources of the Rakow Library, but he was also a major supporter of artists working in glass today. The idea of bringing artists to CMoG to use the Library is exciting. We hope it will nurture their curiosity and inspire new lines of inquiry in their work.”
The idea for this residency was inspired by the Rakow Library’s new exhibition, Curious and Curiouser: Surprising Finds from the Rakow Library, which focuses on the ways in which artists and scholars have been inspired by their “surprising finds” in the Library’s collection. The exhibition is on view through February 17, 2019. Learn about some of their stories in this blog post.