December 3, 2024
GEEX Community Letter: Reflecting on Five Years of GEEX
GEEX proudly marks its fifth anniversary this year. In 2020, with the backing of a few generous seed donors and the dedication of three artists, GEEX was founded to reimagine the glass community by directly addressing deep structural challenges in the field. As an artist-led organization, GEEX paves the way for a future built on cultural equity and shared power in our field. Five years ago, many institutions made bold promises to confront systemic inequity in the glass art community. GEEX has met and exceeded our commitments, and the platform is a model of integrity and action for the field.
Looking Back: Retelling Glass History
Far too often, the contributions of marginalized artists have been unheard or untold. A history only told from a few white perspectives is incomplete. Programs like GEEX Talks retell glass history through a broader cultural range of voices that re-examine and expand the boundaries of glass history. These stories are critical tools to educate, inspire, and challenge present and future glass students and makers. Our growing record of contemporary glass practices redefines what’s remembered and celebrated in the field today to the benefit of all.
Looking at the Field Now: Addressing Attrition and Tokenization
Meaningful, structural change requires more than visibility; it demands equitable pay and genuine respect. The field of glass still grapples with attrition and tokenization: many incredible artists distance themselves from the field because of a lack of support and the harms of superficial inclusion. GEEX’s core commitments uplift artists by thoughtfully framing and fairly compensating their work, in a recognition that BIPOC artists have always been active and essential contributors within and beyond American Studio Glass.
Looking Forward: Expanding Legacies
GEEX plants the seeds for a community where a holistic spectrum of voices is embraced and celebrated to empower the next generation of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists and leaders. In a field historically dominated by exclusive institutions—such as academia, museums, and member-based organizations—GEEX’s positionality offers an inclusive model of leadership rooted in cultural competence and power-sharing. Our work breaks down traditional gatekeeping, making resources once confined to higher education accessible to all—a model of public scholarship that serves the entire community.
Five for Five: Support Five More Years of GEEX
Five years ago, GEEX asked the glass community: What is the future of glass? What will this community choose to empower? Today, GEEX is proud to be a vital part of the glass community through your empowerment.
GEEX invites you to support the 2024 Annual Fund Drive: Five for Five, to help us see it through to another five years of GEEX. In 2020, there was no go-to textbook representing BIPOC and queer glass artists, no support network for isolated BIPOC students studying glass across the nation, and no sliding-scale accessible Writing Center for all glass artists trying to further their career opportunities. Today, there is—thanks to your support!
GEEX aims to continue establishing itself as a permanent presence in the field over the next five years. Our goals include:
- Collaborating with anchor institutions to redistribute funding directly to marginalized communities or undersupported voices;
- Maturing the current volunteer Director position into a paid position, adding BIPOC leadership opportunities in the field;
- Growing the inaugural GEEX Journal into an annual scholarly publication featuring broader voices in the field of Glass;
- Improving the website to support a more responsive and user-centered archive experience, and
- Sustaining the platform long-term through community support—all as we continue retelling glass history, amplifying a breadth of voices, and making knowledge accessible to all.
With these goals in mind, we ask you to support Five for Five:
- Become a Five for Five Sustaining Donor at $5/month!
- Make a one-time donation to contribute to our board-backed match of $15,000 by the end of 2024.
- Share your enthusiasm for GEEX and get five friends to support Five for Five at any level!
- Subscribe to GEEX Talks, watch five lectures, and engage with our growing archive.
- Or sponsor one of five current free and low-cost GEEX programs.
Your support has made a difference and we hope to continue earning your support towards the next five years of GEEX. Thank you for believing in this work!
The GEEX Board and Staff
Davin Ebanks
Kim Harty
Emily Leach
Helen Lee
Jason McDonald
Carmichael Jones
Ben Orozco
Susie Silbert
Anjali Srinivasan
Bre’Annah Stampley
Hilary Wei Wang
