In 2021, the town of Nový Bor became the main organizer of the International Glass Symposium (IGS), and once again this small glassmaking town in the north of Bohemia will turn into a true world glassmaking metropolis for a few days. Each of the previous symposia was unique, and this year’s jubilee will be no different. Place and material are the unchanging basis of the tradition, but glassmaking and art are a living, leading and original phenomenon reflecting the times. 

This year’s IGS will take place on a much larger scale than previous years. The number of organizers and participants increased, and IGS strengthened its global prestige. Despite all the changes that glassmaking has gone through and that have also affected IGS, Nový Bor region remains an exceptional area with its range of glass processing technologies, from machine production, off-hand blown glass at glassworks to an extremely wide range of refining techniques. 

The beginning of the IGS dates back to 1982 when Crystalex in Nový Bor managed something almost impossible. The idea of an international meeting of glassmakers in totalitarian Czechoslovakia became reality. Crystalex invited artists and designers from all over the world to its workshops. Nearly 50 artists from 13 countries came to realize their artistic ideas with the help of the local glassmakers. More than 300 exhibits were created. 

Thirty-nine years later, the program structure and the basic idea of the symposium still follow the tradition founded by Crystalex. Many artists also return to Nový Bor regularly. However, the symposium has changed with the time as well. The visit of artists from the “West” is no longer considered exotic and thanks to IGS it’s possible to show the world that Czech glassmakers have not lost any of their famous craftsmanship. 

IGS has become one of the most important international events in the art glass field and during its existence it has hosted about 600 artists from all over the world. To make the symposium attractive for the public, not only glass artists are invited to participate, but designers, painters, sculptors, architects, personalities from among fashion and jewelry designers, street art and pop culture, which turns every IGS into a four-day art experience marathon. 

The world is being introduced to Nový Bor, Liberec Region and the Czech Republic as a significant glass destination. The event has an enormous significance for the local glass region, for promotion of Czech glass and Czech glassmaking craft in the world. It contributes to preserving intangible cultural inheritance, and finally, it serves an important function for collectors.

The 15th edition of the International Glass Symposium (IGS) will take place from October 3 to 6, 2024 in Nový Bor in North Bohemia and its surrounding area. Preparations have been underway since spring to ensure the participation of more than 40 selected artists or creative pairs from 15 countries around the world. They will create their works of art in collaboration with top glass craftsmen of various professions, whether they are master glass blowers, grinders, engravers, or glass painters, but also experts in the field of slumped or melt glass and other techniques. Several glass companies and specialized workshops and operations will be available to them, including Ajeto. Petr Novotný (1952-2024) enters the Hall of Fame of the International Glass Symposium next week,

https://www.igsymposium.cz/aktuality-en

In celebration of IGS 2024, ToYG speaks with David Ševčík, the director of Glassworks Ajeto as well as Ricardo Hoineff, who moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1991. In 2010 at the age of 41, Hoineff decided to take a two-week glass course that turned into three years of creation and production of art glass at the Higher Vocational School of Glassmaking Nový Bor. He is still kiln forming art glass in Slunečná, North Bohemia.