A glass half full

Robin Rogers beckons visitors on a summer hard-hat tour of the expanded Chrysler Museum’s Perry Glass Studio into the primary theater space. Though the space with a catwalk and second floor raked seating will hold 220 people, twice as many as the old space, it will retain the intimacy visitors have enjoyed during demonstrations of Glass After Dark performances. “Right when you walk in, you’re going to see the action happening,” he says.

The new theater space has audio-visual improvements over its predecessor including giant screens, a sound system and a second-level space where a band can plug in, making it adaptable for a variety of uses, including business events and parties.

Rogers, the glass studio’s manager and program director, says the theater is one of two hot shops in the expansion, which triples the size of the facility and doubles the educational and program offerings. The other will be used for classes and collaborations with area universities and the Governor’s School for the Arts.

The museum dipped its toes in interactive art by opening the studio in 2011. “The glass studio itself was really an experiment,” Rogers says. “The museum built it to see what would happen if we brought glass making to life and the experiment went really well.”

Well enough, according to Erik Neil, director of the museum, that the demand for classes and for local artists to use the facility eventually exceeded capacity. The expansion will meet that demand and create dedicated classrooms for things like fused glass and stained glass.

“People have enjoyed having that interactive part of art either practicing themselves or witnessing the daily demos,” he says. “It enlivens the whole artistic experience.”

The museum raised $56 million for the expansion from about 300 donors, including a couple of dozen major contributors and the state and city of Norfolk.

Classes in the new space began in August, and daily demonstrations started in September. The renovation of the old studio is expected to be complete by January with an opening celebration for the expanded studio in April.

The entrance to the glass studio has been moved to the side of the new addition facing the main museum with a serpentine path between them, a symbol they are one institution.

“The Chrysler Museum really encompasses the glass studio,” Neil says. “I think it’s one of the solutions where the Chrysler has shown how we’re going to stay a relevant institution going into the future. People go to the glass studio and then they come over to Chrysler and they maybe visit an exhibition, they have lunch, all that kind of stuff. It’s really part of the whole experience.”

This is an online-only Hampton Roads Business story.