After 28 wonderfully creative years, National Glass Centre takes its final bow on Friday 31 July 2026.

With the support of Reino Liefkes, Senior Curator Ceramics and Glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Helen Ritchie, Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Applied Arts at the Fitzwilliam Museum, our closing exhibition at the Centre: The Graduates, will be a celebration of the incredible achievements and successes of the University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics Department over the past three decades.

The Graduates features the work of 51 artists; made up of graduates and staff members of University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics Department, including seven invited artists alongside 44 selected artists.

Several contributing artists have created bespoke works for the exhibition that mark the impact and influence of National Glass Centre and reflects on the future of regional glassmaking including James Maskrey with A Moment of Contemplation, Zoe Garner with Save the Last Breath, Bente Brekke with 21 Gram, and Dr. Jo Mitchell’s Human Resources I & II.

Alongside representation of artists who have established their position within the glass community, including Matt Durran, Dr. Kathryn Wightman, Dr. Jeffrey Sarmiento, Katie Huskie, Richard Wheater and Dr. Angela Thwaites, The Graduates also includes work by extremely promising, very recent graduates Sean Barnes, Hannah Masi, Suzie Smith, and Helen Gordon.

In addition, artwork created by members of VICS (Veterans in Crisis Sunderland) and current PhD student Mary Watson, will be featured in the Research and Learning Galleries.

The Graduates presents a vast and varied collection of unforgettable, awe-inspiring glass works in one location, providing a suitably fitting conclusion to this chapter of glassmaking on Wearside. With The Graduates, we celebrate the past and present and begin to embrace the future.