Glassmakers’ Week at the museum

Glassmakers’ Week at the museum will feature glassmaking crafts, Christmas decorations and new exhibitions!

From 17 to 25 October, the museum will be taking part in Glassmakers’ Week, which will offer a varied programme dedicated to glass, glassmaking, design and tradition. Visitors can look forward to glass-making demonstrations, creative workshops, talks, guided tours, a concert and two exhibition openings. The highlight of the week will be the grand opening of the new exhibition ‘World of Fantasy’ in the visitor’s storage gallery.

The programme will kick off on Saturday 17 October from 9 am to 5 pm with demonstrations of glassblowing over a burner by Sklo Andělová, where visitors will also be able to try their hand at creating their own pieces. On Sunday 18 October, at the same time, there will be a family creative workshop entitled ‘Glass Jewellery and Flowers’ led by Marcela Růžičková. Both events will take place as part of Crystal Valley Weekend.

On Monday 19 October from 10.30 am, a specialist conference entitled ‘Glass Dawn – Czech Glass Christmas Decorations’ will take place. The lectures will focus on the history, collections, contemporary aspects and design of Czech Christmas decorations. The event is organised in collaboration with the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic and is primarily intended for professionals; prior registration is required.

Tuesday afternoon, 20 October, will be dedicated to the Friends of the Museum Society. From 4.00 pm, the museum’s chief curator, Petr Nový , will present the new exhibition *World of Fantasy* to them and guide them through the new visitor storage facility.

On Wednesday 21 October, at 4 pm, those interested can first join a guided tour of the ‘World of Wonders’ exhibition with designer Jakub Berdych Karpelis, who created its scenographic design. In the evening, from 7 pm, the museum’s glass extension will resound with the Stivín – Šindler concert, featuring multi-instrumentalist, flautist and saxophonist Jiří Stivín alongside guitarist Jaroslav Šindler. Admission to the concert is 150 Kč (tickets can be purchased at the museum ticket office or online: https://www.msb-jablonec.cz/navstevnicke-informace)

Thursday 22 October will feature two special events. At 3 pm, the opening of the REVIZE exhibition will take place, showcasing interpretations of historic Jablonec costume jewellery by students from universities abroad. The exhibition forms part of the Jablonec 2026 International Triennial of Glass and Costume Jewellery. At 6.00 pm, there will be the official opening of the new exhibition *The World of Fantasy*, dedicated to the history and present day of Czech glass Christmas baubles. The opening will also include the launch of Petr Nový’s new book *The World of Fantasy: The History and Present Day of Glass Christmas Baubles*.

Two Q&A sessions are scheduled for Friday 23 October : ‘Glass Christmas Decorations’, at 10.00 am and 4.00 pm. Curators Petr Nový and Dagmar Havlíčková will guide visitors through the ‘World of Fantasy’ exhibition, answer their questions and also present Petr Nový’s new book, the launch of which will form part of the programme.

The end of the week will be dedicated to Christmas decorations and creative workshops. On Saturday 24 October, from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, visitors will be able to decorate their own Christmas bauble in a workshop run by GoJa. On Sunday 25 October, at the same time, those interested can take part in making seed-bead decorations in collaboration with Rautis.

Unless otherwise stated for a specific event, admission to all Glassmakers’ Week events is free, including entry to the permanent displays and current exhibitions. For standard museum visits, reduced admission rates apply throughout the week.

The project has been granted the patronage of the Czech National Commission for UNESCO.