Transparent Thresholds

Symposium
November 6-7, 2026
WheatonArts
Millville, New Jersey

WheatonArts Fall Symposium is led by Jocelyne Prince and Anna Riley in conjunction
with the Museum of American Glass special exhibitions Portals and Passages and Ghost Optics.

How can the history of window and flat glass technology reshape contemporary practice with glass across various fields? How can revisiting this history help reframe dominant narratives about the built and technological environment? This symposium examines the evolution of flat glass manufacturing with the goal of broadening our understanding of material, labor, and craft in a mechanized age. Central to the symposium will be the “think-and-do” sessions combining discussion and hands-on testing of these processes. Lubbers draw, Fourcault draw, rolled, cast, and cylinder production methods will be applied to studio-scale experimentation.

Transparent Thresholds aims to bring together artists, scholars, architects and engineers to explore the embodied intelligence of industrial glassmaking and reclaim this history as a source of creative and educational innovation. Presenters include researchers and practitioners from glass, archeology, and material science. By bringing historical and industrial knowledge into the studio, this collaborative event seeks to expand the vocabulary of glassmaking, foster interdisciplinary discussion, and generate new forms of creative and technical engagement.

The Miracle of Glass: Its Glorious Past, Its Thrilling Present, Its Miraculous Future as Presented at the New York World’s Fair. Place of Publication Unknown: Glass Incorporated, 1939. Courtesy of the Hagley Archives.

How will the “think-and-do” session work? 

Unlike a traditional hot glass demonstration, a “think-and-do” session is a live problem-solving experiment. A designated team will work in the hot shop to enact processes based on industrial flat glass methods and test ideas guided by conversation with the wider group. This collaborative format seeks to engage expertise from everyone’s disciplines and to create a dialogue where material processes can be immediately tested.

Speakers

● Lindsy R. Parrott, Executive director and curator of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass
● Mudit Trivedi, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University
● Peter Houk, Artistic director of the MIT Glass Lab and independent artist
● Michael Stern, Professor of Practice, Creative Technology, RIT and Founder/Lead of Evenline

Click Here for More Information on the Speakers

Organizers & Consultants

  • Jocelyne Prince, Artist & Professor, Glass Department, Rhode Island School of Design
  • Anna Riley, Artist & Doctoral student, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University
  • Mary Mills, Director of Exhibitions and Collections, WheatonArts, and curator for the Museum of American Glass
  • Peter Drobny, Designer and consultant on all things glass
Click Here for More Information on the Organizers & Consultants

Schedule

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6
11:00 am-1:00 pm
Check-in, Event Center

11:00 am
Museum of American Glass opens for visiting the permanent collection
and special exhibitions Portals and Passages and Ghost Optics.

12:30 pm-1:30 pm
Lunch (provided) and informal greetings, Event Center

1:30 pm-1:50 pm
Welcome and Symposium Introduction: Jocelyne Prince and Anna Riley,
Event Center

1:55 pm-2:55 pm
Speaker: Lindsy R. Parrott (The Neustadt), Event Center

3:15 pm-5:45 pm
“Think-and-Do” Round One, Glass Studio

7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Pizza Party, Glass Studio (back area)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
9:00 am-10:00 am
Speaker: Mudit Trivedi (Stanford), Event Center

10:15 am-11:15 am
Speaker: Peter Houk (MIT) and Michael Stern (RIT), Event Center

11:30 am-12:30 pm
Lunch, Event Center

1:15 pm-3:30 pm
“Think-and-Do” Round Two, Glass Studio

4:00 pm-5:30 pm
Public Closing Reception for Portals and Passages and Ghost Optics,
Museum of American Glass

Symposium Fee


This is a two-day symposium limited to 50 attendees.
Single-day registration is not available.
Students $100
Non-Students $150
Symposium fees include two lunches and the pizza party.
Transportation, hotel, and breakfasts are not included.

Accommodations

WheatonArts has blocked rooms at a discounted rate at Holiday Inn Express & Suites, 398 Smith Street,
Vineland, NJ. Breakfast is free. Discount ends 30 days
prior to the event.
Please Click Here for Your Discounted Rate
for the WheatonArts Glass Symposium

Other Recommendations

Local Restaurants
Accommodations

Getting around Millville

You will need a car (carpooling is recommended) to get around Millville. It is a 9-minute drive between the Holiday Inn Express (398 Smith Street, Vineland) and WheatonArts.
For participants staying at the main symposium hotel, we hope to create a carpooling contact list. Directions

Click Here to Register!