Seattle, WA – In recognition of its 50^th anniversary this year, Pilchuck Glass School received a multi-year, $250,000 gift to support the school’s operations, its artist community, and its goals of greater Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI).

The gift is a joint commitment from Chihuly Garden and Glass and Chihuly Studio, both long-term partners who share Pilchuck’s commitment to artists, creative discovery, and the glass community.

“With this multi-year gift, Pilchuck is able to continue our critical support of artists, with a focus on BIPOC artists who have long been underrepresented in our field,” says Christopher R. Taylor, Executive Director of Pilchuck. “Chihuly Garden and Glass and Chihuly Studio share in our commitment to our communities and our vision to bring more diverse voices into the world of glass.”

The gift will be given over the next three years to underwrite the costs of upcoming Pilchuck programming, including 2021’s Native Pathways program for Indigenous youth; The Gathering, a 2022 workshop session featuring Indigenous instructors; and a spot in Pilchuck’s Emerging Artist in Residence Program for an artist of color each of the next three years. In addition, it will support waived application fees for workshops and residencies, the annual Pilchuck Auction & Gala, restoration of the Founders Totem Pole, in-kind events, and more. This multi-year gift joins other recent donations that have supported Pilchuck’s DEAI initiatives.

Pilchuck, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and Chihuly Studio all owe much of their inspiration to Dale Chihuly, an American artist noted for revolutionizing the studio glass movement and elevating perceptions of the medium.

Chihuly, along with John H. Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg, founded Pilchuck Glass School in the summer of 1971. The school began as an experimental, outdoor glassblowing workshop during the infancy of the American studio glass movement; it has since evolved into the world’s most comprehensive center for glass art education. Every year, artists from across the globe visit Pilchuck to take part in workshops, residencies, and exhibitions featuring glass in all its forms. Through it all, Chihuly’s original vision of “artists teaching artists” has remained a core value of the school.

Chihuly Studio realizes Dale Chihuly’s creative vision through art experiences that momentarily shift reality and liberate imagination. Recent major exhibitions include Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (2017); Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands (2018); Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, U.K (2019), and Gardens by the Bay, Singapore (2020).

Chihuly Garden and Glass, a long-term exhibition located at the Seattle Center, opened in 2012. Every year, it shares Chihuly’s unique voice and pioneering work with thousands of visitors.

Thanks to this partnership and the generous support of Chihuly Garden and Glass and Chihuly Studio, Pilchuck Glass School is able to continue the vision Chihuly set for the school fifty years ago— to inspire creativity, transform individuals, and build an ever-stronger, more diverse, and welcoming community.

Images—Top: David Franklin works on restorations to the Founders Totem Pole; bottom: artists Raya Friday and Preston Singletary, both of whom will teach during 2022's session The Gathering, at work during the 2021 Indigenous Voices residency. The gift from Chihuly Garden and Glass and Chihuly Studio will support both the restoration project and the workshops held during The Gathering.