Two emerging glass artists are embarking on a Creative New Zealand-funded internship programme at Whanganui’s Te Whare Tūhua O Te Ao New Zealand Glassworks.

Located in Whanganui New Zealand, Te Whare Tūhua O Te Ao New Zealand Glassworks is nationally recognised as the centre for art glass. Established in 2015 by Whanganui District Council, New Zealand Glassworks offers a fully operational and high-standard hot glass facility, retail shop and gallery in addition to supporting glass education at a tertiary level. New Zealand Glassworks plays a vital role in promoting and advocating for the art glass sector in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Glassworks interns for 2024 are Nathan Moore and Bindi Nimmo. Mentors on the 2024 programme are George Agius, Katie Brown, Elizabeth McClure, Madeline Prowd and David Traub.

Whanganui District Council’s libraries and community manager, Pete Gray, announced the duo by stating, “New Zealand Glassworks in Whanganui is nationally recognised as the centre for art glass and is committed to encouraging innovation and growing the next generation of glass artists. During the course of this internship programme, which is funded by Creative New Zealand, five professional glass artists will be on hand to share their knowledge from March to December this year.”

A hands-on practical programme will be supplemented with a capability building programme delivered by Whanganui & Partners. Dr Emma Bugden, strategic lead creative industries, and Ben Blain, business growth advisor, will work with the interns over the year, supporting their development in business planning, marketing and funding.

Both interns say the programme comes at the perfect time in their career development. Nathan Moore finished studying in 2023 and was looking to enter the art glass industry and establish himself: “Right out of school I went into trades as a welder, and did that for quite a few years before quite a nasty car crash put me out of work for a while. It was during that time that I decided to go into the creative sphere. When I started studying for a Bachelor of Design and Art at UCOL I took glass as an elective and got hooked.” He enjoys art glass because it’s a unique and challenging medium with liquid and solid elements and you have to learn the technical skills to make the material do what you want.

Speaking of his  recent work, Cubes, Moore says, “Glass doesn’t like to be square. I put blown glass and cast glass together and it was quite exciting to see how they interacted. The trick was to get the cast glass up to a heat where blowing fresh glass into it didn’t cause it to crack or explode.”

Bindi Nimmo submitted the application for the New Zealand Glassworks internship on her way back to New Zealand from a six-month internship in North Carolina. The New Zealand Glassworks internship provides the opportunity to continue in the art glass field and work towards making it a career: “When I initially started at UCOL I was looking for a creative outlet and never imagined I’d end up doing glass—but in the first few days senior lecturer Dr Kathryn Wightman took me in and got me started on the art glass path. After graduation I didn’t have the time or money for art glass but Katie Brown, director of Brown & Co. lighting and design store, hired me to work in the hot shop so I could still have access to the medium.”

Nimmo’s work is fuelled by colour and how it harmonises to imply emotions. “One of the techniques I enjoy is creating murrine for my work. By layering glass colour and pulling this into long canes it can then be cut into smaller pieces when the glass is cooled. This is a way to create playful detail within layers, I use these in blown work and fusing. In a recent exhibition I fused colourful murrine pieces to make 2D works, these reflected cellular emotion. I’ve also made blown glass vessels cut in two in the final stages to create double neck forms—I’ve called these Glizzard Vessels.”

The two interns say art glass involves a lot of teamwork and the connections they make on the internship programme will stand them in good stead in their future careers.