In September 2026, the Washington Glass School marks 25 years of teaching, making, breaking, rebuilding, and believing in glass.
WGS was founded in 2001, by artists Tim Tate and Erwin Timmers, and held its very first class on September 13, 2001 — just two days after the attack on the United States. At a moment when much felt uncertain, a group of artists and students chose to gather, work with fire, and make something with their hands.
That instinct to keep going forward has defined the studio ever since.
What began as the glass program at the Millennium Arts Center at 65 I Street SW (now the Rubell Museum) moved in 2003 to the Washington Sculpture Center. In that same summer, an intrepid, lapsed architect named Michael Janis walked in and took his first class. By 2005, he was named co-director alongside Tim & Erwin — just as the studio was given its marching orders to vacate Capitol Hill due to eminent domain and the arrival of the Washington Nationals.
In 2006, WGS relocated to Mount Rainier, Maryland, where it has now spent 20 years building a community that extends far beyond the hot shop walls.
Along the way:
- Nearly 6,000 students have passed through the studio
- WGS has organized landmark exhibitions such as Glass 3 (2006) and International Glass & Clay (2013)
- Both Janis and Tate have become Fulbright Fellows
- The studio has weathered Artomatic dramas, funding cycles, kiln rebuilds, and more than a few cracked molds
- And WGS has created major public works, including the monumental glass doors for the Library of Congress Adams Building, along with numerous civic and community-based projects throughout the region
In September 2026, the anniversary year will culminate in a major exhibition and celebration at the Brentwood Arts Center — a space that, in a twist of history, was once slated to become WGS’s new home back in 2006 before Hurricane Katrina-related construction delays reshaped those plans.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing stories from the archives, voices from the studio, images of works-in-progress, and reflections from the many artists who have made WGS what it is.
This isn’t just a look back.
It’s a living history — and an invitation to be part of what comes next.
