The Arts Commission Announces Awardees for the 2025 Intersection Glass Program

Eye On Art  |  04/03/2025 11:30 am

The 2025 Intersection awardees have recently been selected from four finalists. The Arts Commission is pleased to announce that three internationally recognized artists will be creating new work for exhibition this fall as part of the Intersection Program.

The awardees are Anjali Srinivasan, Justin Ginsberg, and Kagen Dunn.

Intersection is a program that connects artists, designers, and industry professionals at Pilkington Glass North American (Nippon Sheet Glass, Co., Ltd.) for collaboration and development of new, innovative artworks. Inspired by the studio glass movement, The Arts Commission seeks to provide opportunities which connect applicants of glass as an artistic medium with the glass manufacturing processes. 

The exhibition is scheduled for September 11 – October 18, 2025. The opening reception is to be held on Thursday, September 11, 2025, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Both the exhibition and opening reception will be free and open to the public and will be held at the River House Arts gallery in the Secor Building.

This year’s Intersection of Art and Industry jurors included:

• Michelle Fisher, Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Keiko Tsuri, Senior Scientist, Thin Film Technology, NSG - Pilkington North America, Inc.
• Therman Statom, Artist, Advocate 

Intersection committee member, Kyle Sword, Research and Development Director for NGS Inc./Pilkington North America states: “Intersection is one of my favourite activities throughout the year.  As the R&D director, it is fantastic working directly with artists and creative people that are actively trying to innovate using our products.  It is always great fun to get an idea or a thought on how to use, process, or create our products in a way that I haven’t thought of before.  The partnership we have with The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo makes for an incredible community and employee collaboration and engagement experience.  The program does connect us more with our product and innovative ideas, but the connections throughout the local community have lasting impacts and are a great part of the experience.”

ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES

Anjali Srinivasan
Anjali Srinivasan’s background in creative practice stems from collaborations with traditional glass artisans in India since 1996, on research and design initiatives aimed at socio-economic empowerment.

She studied Accessories’ Design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi and holds a BFA cum laude from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She earned the terminal degree of her field, a Masters in Fine Arts degree, with honors, from Rhode Island School of Design in 2007 with a keen interest in glass and digital media.

Her work has been recognized by the 2016 Swarovski Designer of the Future Award, the 2017 Jutta Cuny- Franz Memorial Award, the 2017 Irwin Borowsky International Prize in Glass Arts and the 35th Rakow Commission by the Corning Museum of Glass in 2020. She is also the recipient of a Creative Capital / Andy Warhol Foundation Grant for Art Writers and grants from the American Association for University Women Education Foundation. Most recently, she was named a Brother Thomas Fellow in 2023 and a United States Artist Fellow in 2025.

Anjali lives and works between Bengaluru, India and Boston, USA, where she is Associate Professor, Fine Arts 3D at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. As an educator, she guides students on how a rigorous investigation of matter speaks to creative sustenance. As an artist, she remains invested in inter- disciplinary research and cross-cultural interventions that build original knowledge and empathy. Currently, her research is invested in notions of ‘biological craftspersonship’, ‘crowd-created’ entities and ‘earth-based’ fabrication in the fields of sustainability and social engagement.

Justin Ginsberg
Justin Ginsberg is an American interdisciplinary artist, writer, educator, and curator whose work bridges historic scientific discoveries, cutting-edge technological innovations, and the unique properties of materials. His creative practice forms immersive connection points that reveal often overlooked intersections between art, science, and technology. By challenging traditional boundaries, he invites us to engage more deeply with the subtle ties that shape our understanding of the world.

Ginsberg’s practice is fueled by his curiosity about glass as a material and a strong commitment to education. He earned a BA in American Studies and History from The University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he now serves as Assistant Chair and Associate Professor in the Art and Art History Department, as well as Head of the Glass Area. His work is part of esteemed collections at institutions such as Museum Kunstpalast in Germany; The Frye Art Museum in WA; and The Museum of American Glass in New Jersey. Notable solo exhibitions include the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Texas; S12 in Norway, and the Traver Gallery, Washington. Additionally, he has been selected for the Corning Museum of Glass, New Glass Review, seven times.

By integrating his creative and teaching practices, Ginsberg has led workshops and taught at renowned venues including the Pilchuck Glass School, The Corning Museum of Glass, and The Toyama Institute of Glass. His engagement with the attention economy—developing protocols and resilience against media bombardment and distraction—has led to collaborations with ESTAR(SER), producing a publication with MIT Press titled The Twelve Theses of Attention, contributions to the São Paulo Biennial for an Attention Symposium, and a recent residency at the Watermill Center in New York. For Ginsberg, creative practice is not merely about making art; it is a way of living.

Kagen Dunn
Kagen Dunn is a glass artist and interdisciplinary creator based in Madison, Wisconsin, whose work explores the preservation of everyday ephemera and the traces left by human interaction. She earned her BFA from the University of Texas at Arlington and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dunn’s practice blends various mediums, particularly glass, to investigate themes of memory, identity, and the ephemeral nature of human experiences. Her work focuses on how objects and artifacts serve as conduits for cultural expression, storytelling, and human creativity, inviting empathy for the abandoned elements of daily life.

She currently teaches both the beginning and advanced glassworking curricula at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she is dedicated to fostering technical skill, conceptual development, and material exploration in emerging artists. Her recent exhibitions include Art by the Foot at the Center for Visual Arts (Wausau, WI), the 2023 TMA Contemporary at the Trout Museum (Appleton, WI), and Telling Tales at the Wharton Esherick Museum (Malvern, PA). Dunn is also deeply involved in glass programming and education at UW-Madison, working alongside Helen Lee to curate exhibitions and coordinate outreach workshops through Glass Madison.

About Intersection
Intersection is a program that connects artists, designers, and industry professionals at Pilkington Glass North America (Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.) for collaboration and development of new, innovative artworks. Intersection is generously sponsored by NGS Inc./Pilkington North America, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, private donors, and Toledo’s philanthropic community. If you would like details on sponsorship or more information about the event, please visit our website or contact The Arts Commission at 419-254-2787.

The Intersection 2026 call for artists will be opening soon. 

About The Arts Commission
The Arts Commission is the longest standing arts commission in the state of Ohio, founded in 1959, administering the City of Toledo’s One Percent for Art Program since 1977. The Arts Commission is supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council and by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.