Ariel Kesike Hill is an Indigenous artist hailing from Six Nations of the Grand River and Wiikwemkoong Unceeded Territory, now residing on the traditional territory of the Sinixt, Secwepemc, Ktunaxa and Syilx/Okanagan peoples, in Revelstoke, BC. Hill is a multidisciplinary artist with a B.F.A from Alberta College of Art + Design with a major in glass and a graduate of the jewelry program at the Kootenay School of the Arts. She is an M.F.A candidate with Emily Carr University of Art+Design, graduating class of 2026.

“My work is a reflection of my environment. I have had a deep connection to the land from an early age, growing up on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. I work with a variety of contemporary and traditional mediums to convey the stories of the land. Currently, my focus lies on the fragile ecosystems of glaciers and watersheds, particularly the Illecillewaet glacier and its downstream connections.”

Brandon Lopez is a Mexican American artist creating functional and sculptural work with glass. Originally from Pennsylvania, he first began working with glass in 2013. Lopez attended Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia from 2014-18, where he received his BFA in Glass. Since then, he has assisted classes at craft schools and worked as an assistant for a number of artists. His work combines traditional glass blowing techniques with the aesthetics of art and objects made by ancient civilizations to create sculpture and design objects. Lopez has recently completed the Core Fellowship at Penland School of Craft. Brandon is currently living and working in Asheville, North Carolina.

"As a Mexican American artist, I draw inspiration from Mesoamerican civilizations, where art went beyond aesthetics and served ritualistic functions. Through glassblowing I explore this intersection in both functional and sculptural works. My functional objects are inspired by ancient and futuristic design. My sculptural pieces reference ancient vessels and unknown rituals. Their worn surfaces and markings stand as evidence of lost civilizations and forgotten knowledge, blurring the lines between past, present, and future. My work references the profound role art has played in human history. Serving not only to decorate but to connect us to the spiritual and unknown."

Davin Ebanks is a Caymanian-American sculptor who primarily uses glass to explore his personal and cultural history and examine the relationship between identity and the environment. Included in his wide-ranging international exhibition record Davin has shown at SOFA Chicago and CONTEXT Art Miami during Art Basel week. He is a recipient of the Silver Heritage Star from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation for his contributions to creativity in the Arts. His glass sculptures are in the collection of His Royal Highness, King Charles, The Kerry & C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art, the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands, at the Cafesjian Art Trust Museum. Davin’s work was published in “A-Z of Caribbean Art” and “Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers”. He has done residencies at Tacoma Museum of Glass, Chrysler Museum of Glass, and Pittsburg Glass Center. He recently co-juried New Glass Review 43 and is currently Associate Professor (Head) of Glass at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, USA.

"I see my sculptures as metaphors for the subjective yet interconnected nature of identity and personal narrative. I use everyday elements from the island culture where I was raised—ripe bananas, woven baskets, ocean water, etc.—and by translating these subjects into glass they are elevated from the mundane to the aesthetic. Bananas and cotton are fraught with cultural and political significance. The banana also has a long history as an artistic subject. In my homeland of Cayman, the local bananas are poor peoples’ food, grown in many backyards. On the other hand, the cultivated, store-bought banana is symbol of colonialism and monoculture. Baskets of glass fruit adorned the sitting rooms of many working-class families during my childhood. This trope is an act of preservation that negates usefulness, or perhaps reframes what usefulness means. This translation mirrors how the objects in this show have been transformed, forcing them to oscillate between the familiar and the foreign."

Helen Lee is an artist, designer, and educator. Her work explores language and diasporic identity through the materiality of glass. She holds an MFA in Glass from RISD and a BSAD in Architecture from MIT. Her work is in the collections of Minnesota Museum of American Art, Corning Museum of Glass, Chrysler Museum Glass Studio, and Toyama City Institute of Glass Art. Recent exhibitions include: Exuviae at Art Lit Lab, Through a Glass Darkly at Delaware Contemporary, and Momentum | Intersection at Toledo Museum of Art. Lee has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, California College of Art, Pilchuck Glass School, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Ox-Bow School of Art, China Academy of Art, Toyama City Institute of Glass Art and the MIT Glass Lab. Lee was a 2024 United States Artist Fellow in Craft. She is currently an Associate Professor and Head of Glass in the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and proudly serves as the Director of GEEX, the Glass Education Exchange.

Soraya Shockley (they/them) is an artist and educator living and working in Brooklyn, New York. They are originally from Oakland, California and grew up in a world of a million and one cultural influences. From spending time in Lebanon with their mom’s side of the family to learning recipes from their grandma in the Southern US. Soraya has been working with glass for just under three years and finds the possibility of the material to be endlessly inspiring. Their current work focuses on color and the ways in which it can be manipulated in both hot and cold contexts to make complex patterns and tell stories.

Zeinab Manesh is a 24-year-old Iranian-Kurdish glass artist based in Beacon, NY, and the founder of GlassqueenZ LLC. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design's renowned glass department, Zeinab merges traditional Persian motifs with contemporary glass techniques, reflecting both her cultural heritage and personal identity. Zeinab has exhibited work in New York, Washington DC, and Virginia, receiving critical acclaim for her unique vision. As an experienced instructor in glass blowing, she is committed to sharing her craft and introducing the complexity of living as a marginalized individual.

Through her art, Zeinab explores themes of identity while showcasing the richness of Persian culture. She is dedicated to raising awareness of intersectional vulnerabilities and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. Fluent in Farsi and Turkish, she seeks to challenge and expand perceptions within the glass art community, blending tradition with innovation. By honoring the legacy of traditional techniques while pushing artistic boundaries, her work transforms glass into more than a medium of beauty—it becomes a powerful vehicle for storytelling, dialogue, and inclusivity.