The museum, lead by executive director, Jan Mirenda Smith, was awarded the 2015 Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass Institutional Award on November 7^th at the Sculptural Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) exposition at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Each year the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) selects an organization to be honored for its contributions to the contemporary glass movement. The award was presented to Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass by AACG President, Mr. Harlan Fischer, during the AACG Annual Meeting which was held in conjunction the SOFA exposition.

Fischer said of the museum, “You’re a glass-roots organization and exactly the type of organization we look to present the award to. We’re hopeful that this award is something that will help you continue to grow. The museum is very deserving and Jan is doing a great job.”

Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass received an unrestricted grant from the Alliance and museum executive director, Jan Mirenda Smith was invited to present a public program about the museum at SOFA.

Past honorees include The Knoxville Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, deYoung Museum, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Museum of Arts and Design, Corning Museum of Glass, Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington, and National Liberty Museum.

Of the award, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass Board of Directors President, Michael Van Asten said, “The staff and volunteers of the museum are grateful to receive this prestigious national award. Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass works tirelessly to further the appreciation of art made from glass through the museum collections, special exhibits and programs for students of all ages.”

The museum staff would like to express its gratitude to the members, volunteers, program sponsors and donors who helped the museum reach this stature in the glass community. Without your belief in the work we do, we would not have achieved this level of success.

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