Annual Auction Events to Celebrate Co-Founder’s Commitment to Education

Collectors, philanthropists, and artists from all over the world will gather at Pilchuck Glass School’s 30th Annual Auction, October 30 at The Westin Seattle, to celebrate Dale Chihuly and Leslie Jackson Chihuly and support the school.

As Pilchuck’s first artistic director, Chihuly devised the initial creative path of the school as an atelier of artists teaching artists. Dale Chihuly and Leslie Jackson Chihuly are wholeheartedly dedicated to supporting and encouraging the artistic lives of others. The Pilchuck Annual Auction will celebrate the profound influence that this husband-and-wife team has had on Pilchuck, the Pacific Northwest art scene, and artists internationally.

Hundreds of artists who have taught, studied or created at Pilchuck have generously donated art works that will be auctioned to benefit the school’s artistic and educational programs. Works were selected for the auction by a jury comprised of artists, curators and collectors: Deb Gross (Chicago art collector), Duff Kennedy (Seattle philanthropist), Ruth King (Pilchuck’s artistic director), Melissa Post (Museum of Glass curator), and Greg Robinson (Museum of Northwest Art executive director). Over 350 artworks will be available at the auction including 100 centerpieces, Celebratory Trophy Cups, designed by Canadian artists’ collective Bee Kingdom, whose members are Phillip Bandura, Tim Belliveau, and Ryan Marsh Fairweather.

In partnership with Pilchuck Glass School, Nordstrom will feature a spectacular, unique installation by Dale Chihuly as well as selected auction works in the windows of their flagship store in Seattle. The works which include the showcase installation of an assemblage of Chihuly Blue Reeds and Niijima Floats on a bed of glass cullet will be in Nordstrom’s 6th Avenue windows, on view from September 11 to early October. Celebratory Trophy Cups, the 2008 Auction Centerpieces, will be displayed at the Bellevue Arts Museum and at Barrier Motor’s Bellevue location from September to early October.

All works to be auctioned will be on view during Pilchuck on Display: An Exhibition of International Glass Art, a one-night exhibition, October 29, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of The Westin Seattle. Free and open to the public, this event offers visitors the opportunity to see the full breadth of contemporary art created with glass.

Pilchuck’s Annual Auction directly supports the school’s operating costs, and proceeds from the event represent one third of the school’s annual income. Funds raised during this year’s auction’s fund-a-need will keep the creative fires burning brightly at Pilchuck by supporting the school’s propane expenses. This past year, Pilchuck’s propane costs increased by 26 percent, creating a financial challenge for the school.

Pilchuck’s Annual Auction is a celebration of the impact and enduring legacy of the school’s artistic programs. Tickets for the gala begin at $225 per person. For more information please contact Helga Hizer, (206) 621-8422 ext. 34, hhizer@pilchuck.com.

Founded in 1971 by Dale Chihuly, Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg (1916-2002), Pilchuck Glass School is an international center for glass art education. Located on a former tree farm in Stanwood, Washington, Pilchuck sponsors three-week courses each summer in a broad spectrum of glass techniques as well as residencies for emerging and established artists working in all media. Pilchuck welcomes over 500 artists annually as the world’s most comprehensive school for artists working with glass.

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Pilchuck Glass School receives generous annual support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission, PONCHO, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation, 4Culture King County Lodging Tax, the Corning Incorporated Foundation, the Jean K. Lafromboise Foundation, the Laila Twigg-Smith Fund of the Hawai’i Community Foundation and many generous individuals.