2025 Fuel Their Fire Sponsorship Opportunities
Read more below about the Visiting Artists you can support.
Invest in an artist by providing the creative platform essential to exploring new ideas.
The Fuel Their Fire™ program contributes to the development of artist and the glass art community through the sponsorship of a Visiting Artist Residency at Museum of Glass. By removing financial constraints, artists are free to experiment and work with MOG’s world-renowned team, which often results in a new body of work. As a Residency Sponsor, you’ll not only receive recognition, but also the opportunity to meet the artist and select a work created during the residency for your personal collection.
You can make an impact!
To learn more about sponsoring a Visiting Artist, please contact Melinda Longabaugh, Director of Development at mlongabaugh@museumofglass.org or 253.284.2125. See more below about the Visiting Artists you can support.
2025 Fuel Their Fire Artists
Tariqa Waters
March 12-16
Named one of Seattle Magazine's most influential artists in 2023, Tariqa Waters' innovative practice drips with colorful irreverence and cheeky humor, flipping gender scripts, remixing Black cultural touchpoints, and reflecting the contradictions of daily life. Her residency at Museum of Glass will be used to create new work for Waters’ upcoming solo exhibition at Seattle Art Museum, Tariqa Waters: Venus is Missing, which opens in May 2025.
Corey Pemberton
April 30-May 4
As a queer person of mixed race, Corey Pemberton often feels other. Knowing nothing about his African roots and very little about his European heritage, the artist considers lineage and the idea of connectedness in his work. His blown glass baskets are inspired by his presumed ancestors, created with a European technique that borrows forms and patterns from the sweetgrass weavers of South Africa. This will be Pemberton’s first residency at Museum of Glass.
Ben Beres
May 14-18
Ben Beres is a Seattle-based artist who has been printmaking for the past two decades, with a focus on creating detailed works through the process of etching on copper. His residency will be an opportunity for Beres to continue to experiment on vessels that combine glassblowing with this printmaking practice. His residency is in honor of the People’s Choice Coney Award, which he received at MOG’s 2024 Red Hot Auction and Gala.
Sonya Clark
June 18-22
For more than two decades, textile artist Sonya Clark has transformed common objects into works that probe identity and visibility, appraise the force of the African Diaspora, and propose an amended version of history. She stitches, braids, unravels, and weaves recognizable materials such as human hair, plastic combs, glass beads, and flags. This will be her first at Museum of Glass, as part of an on-going partnership with Pilchuck Glass School which invites Pilchuck Artist-in-Residence to the Hot Shop to experiment and push the boundaries of their work in glass.
Wendy Red Star
July 23-27
Wendy Red Star lives and works in Portland, Oregon. An enrolled member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Tribe, Red Star works across disciplines to explore the intersections of Native American ideologies and colonialist structures, both historically and in contemporary society. Drawing on pop culture, conceptual art strategies, Red Star pushes the conversation surrounding Native American perspectives in new directions. Her residency, part of the Museum’s on-going collaboration with Pilchuck Glass School, will be an opportunity for Red Star to experiment with incorporating glass into artwork.
Hilltop Artists
July 30-August 3
Hilltop Artists is a youth development arts nonprofit in Tacoma, Washington operating deeply impactful programs since 1994 with broad community support, and a track record of success. Each summer, Museum of Glass supports Hilltop Artists by hosting students and instructors at Museum of Glass to work with the Hot Shop Team to create centerpieces for Hilltop’s annual fundraiser Better Futures Luncheon. Hilltop Artists serves over 650 students a year ages 12 – 26 through its programming, providing tuition-free glass instruction, mentorship, and collaborative leadership opportunities.
Annette Blair
August 20-24
Australian artist Annette Blair creates work which most recently explores simple utilitarian objects and their ability to evoke a common sense of nostalgia. Her artistic practice is divided into several facets; the design and manufacture of functional glassware, the development of exhibition work, teaching in Australia and the United States, as well as gaffing for many of Australia’s leading glass artists. Blair’s residency is part of the Museum’s collaboration with Pilchuck Glass School and will be an opportunity for Blair to push the boundaries of her work with the help of the Hot Shop team.
David Walters
October 8-12
Throughout his career, David Walters has been fascinated with narrative and storytelling. Referring often to the fairy tales of our youth, he weaves familiar stories with a more personal interpretation. He imbues these cautionary tales a sense of his own history or personal experience to give them a more contemporary and intimate relevance. Walters joins the Hot Shop after being honored with the Grand Prize Coney Award for his contribution to the 2024 Red Hot Annual Auction and Gala.
Åsa Sandlund
October 15-19
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Åsa Sandlund has spent three decades bridging the worlds of art and design. She is currently the Senior Creative Director at Nordstrom, overseeing Nordstrom’s brand strategy and identity across all channels. In addition to her corporate role, Sandlund collaborates with her husband, glass artist Preston Singletary, and is an accomplished glass artist herself. Her residency will be an opportunity for Sandlund to create new work for an exhibition at the National Nordic Museum, which will focus on Sandlund and Singletary’s creative lives together in the Pacific Northwest.