This very well made catalogue for expositions with the same title Scandinavian Glass -Starting All Over, begins with an introduction that explains a Scandinavian glassworks crisis. Three outstanding specialist museums in Scandinavia –Glasmuseet Ebeltoft (Denmark), The Glass Factory, Boda (Sweden) and Suomen Lasimuseo, Riihimäki (Finland) —have joined forces in a development project featuring a series of expositions based on the present situation, in order to face issues straight-on and to search for new, innovative and interdisciplinary ways of working with glass in the future.
 
Great photographs reveal how the exposition is installed at Glasmuseet Ebeltoft (DK) for all three countries also represented by essays: Susanne Jønker Johnson’s (D) rather languid history also describes artists and their works while Laura Aalto-Setälä (FIN) has a fresh vision about technology, its use and knowledge of chemical tempering glass for use in glass art. From Katarina Sjörgen and Åsa Jungnelius (S) the conversation on the history of factories and workshops includes the new possibilities this crisis brings.
 
Finally, all works are represented by good photographs, for example, “Handmade Workshops” describes and lists artists with contact information at the close of this valuable and timely document.
 
So go and see the Agenda> exposition until 23 September, 2018, in the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft     and acquire the catalogue or view it on-line: http://glasmuseet.dk/kataloger-2/
 
The opening of an exposition in Ebeltoft (2000) began with my lecture ‘Empowerment of Imagination’ and my lecture ‘I Spy’ was held at the symposium at  Bornholm in 2008, where I tried to ignite the very same discussion. Now, eighteen years later it is about time to find future-proof solutions. My hope is that this catalogue spices up the discussion on how to handle glass art and the art of glass in the future through topics such as better education for design and crafts by putting the primary focus on autonomous art and also fosters criticality in curators. Our need to move beyond the dominance of Studio glass; to organize artist residency programs to include architects and non-glass artists; to expand our knowledge of glass technology and in all glass disciplines and, finally, how to extend the interest for glass making for more male practice, etc.  All this in order to fill the gap in quality of works that the exposition shows so well.
Starting all over?

Angela van der Burght