Glass act as pair receive internships
Emerging glass artists Nathan Moore and Bindi Nimmo have received internships at Whanganui’s Te Whare Tū hua O Te Ao New Zealand Glassworks.
The 2024 intern programme is funded by Creative New Zealand.
“New Zealand Glassworks in Whanganui is nationally recognised as the centre for art glass and is committed to encouraging innovation and growing the next generation of glass artists,” said Whanganui District Council libraries and community manager Pete Gray.
The interns will be mentored by professional glass artists George Agius, Katie Brown, Elizabeth McClure, Madeline Prowd and David Traub.
The hands-on aspect will be supplemented with a capability building programme covering business planning, marketing and funding, delivered by Whanganui & Partners.
Moore said he finished studying in 2023 and wanted to enter the art glass industry and get himself established.
“Right out of school I went into trades as a welder, and did that for quite a few years before quite a nasty car crash put me out of work for a while. It was during that time that I decided to go into the creative sphere. When I started studying for a Bachelor of Design and Art at
UCOL I took glass as an elective and got hooked.”
Nimmo said she submitted the application for the internship on her way back to New Zealand from an internship in North Carolina and was relieved it was successful, giving her the opportunity to continue in the art glass field and work towards making it a career.
“When I initially started at UCOL I was looking for a creative outlet and never imagined I’d end up doing glass — but in the first few days senior lecturer Dr Kathryn Wightman took me in and got me started on the art glass path.”
The interns said art glass involved a lot of teamwork and the connections they made on the internship programme would stand them in good stead in their careers.