The Nový Bor municipality hosted already nine years of the International Glass Symposium - IGS. The tradition initiated in 1982, continued each three years and within some 30 years has became a literally world unique event. Nowhere else in the same place so numerous glass artists met together to work in connection with craftsmen – glassmakers directly in hotshops and refinery workshops. Within the past nine years of the symposium, Nový Bor welcomed hundreds outstanding personalities, among them almost all world-famous glass authors. The collection of artworks, representing results of all the IGSs being, is interesting and outstanding. It proves the development of contemporary glass creation, thus it would be suitable not only to keep it complete for future generations, but also to complement it by next and next works. The bankruptcy declaration and proceeding fulfilled the dismal fate of Crystalex, the iniciator and organizer of eight previous years of IGS. This fact brought about also heavy clouds over the IGS future. Fortunately, glassmaking in Nový Bor doesn´t mean just Crystalex. The Nový Bor municipality got a permit to use both the mark and name IGS from the Crystalex company, and in order to keep the tradition has taken over its organization. Partners of the 10th jubilee year became the Ajeto Czech Glass Craft Ltd., Egermann Ltd., SKLÁRNA SLÁVIA Ltd., TGK – technika, sklo a umění Ltd. companies, as well as the Higher Professional and Secondary Glass School, allowance organization.
The event will be held from June 18. – 21, with confirmed participation of more than 35 artists, whose selection was within cognizance of an art commission headed by PhDr. Jaroslav Polanecký Ph.D. Similarly to previous IGS years, presentations of individual participants, professional lectures on glassmaking and naturally the final Exhibition of Results of the 10th IGS will be held. Simultaneously with IGS the already traditional Glass Festival as well as the competition Craft and Art in Glass, organized by the Glass Museum Nový Bor, will take place in the town. This unusuall meeting of artists will be held in the last week of the Czech EU presidency, thus the organizers would like the IGS become a Nový Bor and the whole Liberec region contribution to the packet of extraordinary events, kept on the occasion of our six month long handling of 27 European countries.