6 July - 26 August

Curated by Margaret Hancock Davis, Hot Shop for Hire, presents a community of studio tenants and hirers working at Adelaide’s JamFactory. The 11 chosen artists tell a story of the diverse nature of practice in the glass studio. The exhibition will unpack the processes and techniques of contemporary glass practice exploring pate de verre, venetian cane work, murrini and kiln formed glass.

At its inception in 1973, the Glass Studio was housed in a big iron shed behind an historic former jam factory. JamFactory moved in the early 1990s to a purpose built facility in Adelaide’s West End. It is the longest running hot glass studio in Australia and despite its inner city surrounds retains a gritty, down to earth atmosphere.

At the core of the Glass Studio is its training-through-production program, which harks back to a pre-Renaissance era of collective artisanship. In this environment master glass artists work alongside Associates developing their skills. The result is a strong, vibrant, and highly skilled community of craftspeople who work together to create custom one-off commissions, architectural work, small production runs, fine art pieces and corporate gifts. Hot Shop for Hire features Nicole Ayliffe, Penny Fuller, Tegan Empson, Brenden Scott French, Kumiko Nakajima, Mariella McKinley, Hilary Crawford, Patrick Primeau, Kristel Britcher, Amanda King and Madeline Prowd.

6 July - 26 August

This exhibition brings together renowned glass artists Amanda King, Jess Loughlin, Tom Moore, Deb Jones, Matthew Larwood, Christine Cholewa, Tim Edwards, Clare Belfrage, Karen Cunningham, Penny Fuller, B. Jane Cowie and Gabriella Bisetto in a celebration of the independent glass studio Blue Pony.

Established in 1997 and closing its door in 2011, Blue Pony was an iconic Adelaide studio that was home to a diverse group of artists throughout its 14 year history. This exhibition presents a survey of these artists and the unique relationships of the studio and community based approach to glass practice.

“How to operate as a group is something between a mystery an experiment but I still choose it. We had some revelations: We decided that just because you can divide a space with a tape measure, that’s not necessarily the best way. We discussed things that were less tangible, the things that usually get ignored because they’re too hard to measure. We decided to make all our decisions based on what ‘the other’ person needed. We abandoned the notion of equal. The reality is that nothing is equal. Not input, not space, not life. We remained fiercely independent and cared enormously about each other.” Deb Jones.

A Blue Pony publication will be launched highlighting some of the memorable moments and activities of the Studio.