Pittsburgh is the perfect place to live, work, and create.
There are so many reasons why:
- Pittsburgh Glass Center, a state-of-the-art public access glass art facility
- Vibrant, growing, and diverse glass community
- Opportunities to work in glass
- Residency, exhibition, and retail opportunities
- Affordable and fun city living
glass is life!
State-of-the-Art Studios
Pittsburgh Glass Center (PGC) is internationally recognized as one of the United States’ premier glass facilities. Artists from around the world continue to recognize PGC as one of the best facilities for glass artists at any level. They say that the equipment is top notch and the support and welcoming attitude is second to none.
PGC recently updated and doubled the size of the flame, kiln, and cold shops, added a second professional hot shop, a neon and plasma shop and fabrication lab with digital design technology such as a 3D printer, waterjet cutter, laser cutter, and CNC machinery. The studio is public access and available for anyone to rent and create.
PGC opened in 2001 and has been growing ever since. Over 60 glass artists have moved to Pittsburgh to live and make their art at Pittsburgh Glass Center or in their own studios. They join our local professional and aspiring glass artists. Together they make up a vibrant community of glass artists, many of whom make a living by selling their art and use PGC as their home studio.
Pittsburgh Glass Center is committed to supporting glass artists at all levels and expanding
public appreciation of what glass artists do. We offer artist-focused residency programs and an opportunity to sell your art in our shop.
Pittsburgh Glass Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we are dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse staff that is committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. PGC does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship programs, and other PGC administered programs and activities. All of our employees’ points of view are key to our success, and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our employees, board members, instructors, students, and audiences invest in our work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and achievement as well.
Pittsburgh is a great place to live and is often recognized as one of the most livable cities in the U.S. Also known as the “The City of Bridges,” Pittsburgh is home to 90 unique neighborhoods. Pittsburgh Glass Center is located within walking distance of several of them.
Visiting artists are always astonished at the architecture of the historic buildings and homes in Pittsburgh. As a matter of fact, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater home is located an hour and a half from PGC.
Pittsburgh is one of the most affordable cities to live in the U.S. with plenty of housing options in the various neighborhoods. The median price for a single-family home in Pittsburgh and the surrounding Allegheny County area is 42.3% less than the national average, while rent is 36.5% lower — meaning that your money towards rent or mortgage goes further here than in other big cities, like New York, Boston and Seattle.
The City is a thriving hub of creativity and is home to over 100 museums. There is a collaborative arts community that includes iconic organizations like the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum, plus hundreds of distinctive organizations such as Attack Theatre, Contemporary Craft, Silver Eye for Photography, and many, many more.
Image by Christopher Klein via Pixabay
Learn more about our region at www.visitpittsburgh.com and www.pittsburghregion.org/living.
Staff trip to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater
If you are a sports fan, there is no better place to be than the home of the Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. If you prefer to participate, the Pittsburgh Sports League offers a wide variety of recreational and competitive team sports. Bring your bicycle or borrow one from Pogoh, the robust bike share system, and explore the city on over 100 miles of on-street bikes lanes and neighborways in the city alone. Put your kayak into one of the three rivers that surround our city, or rent one with the help of Venture Outdoors kayak rentals. Speaking of our three rivers, Pittsburgh’s riverfront trails, parks, and greenways are truly second to none thanks to organizations like Riverlife and Friends of the Riverfront.
Pittsburgh lies within 500 miles of more than half the U.S. population and less than a 90-minute flight from half of North America’s population. Driving time to Toledo is 3.5 hours, 2 hours to Cleveland, 4 hours to Detroit, 4.5 hours to DC, and 6 hours to NYC.
In Pittsburgh, you can have a life you love at work and outside of it, whether that means biking to the studio, enjoying our many breweries or restaurants with award-winning chefs or relaxing on or near our three signature rivers.
Not convinced? Just ask any of us!
Opportunities to Work in Glass
PGC has expanded to meet the increasing demand for glass art instruction and creation. Now that we have increased capacity, we need more instructors. Pittsburgh Glass Center is looking for glassmakers of all types to work as instructors and assistants.
PGC offers a variety of classes from 20-minute quick experiences to 2-hour workshops and extended classes for all skill levels from beginner to expert. We partner with local colleges, universities, and public and private schools to offer classes for credit and after school youth programming. We educate nearly 60,000 individuals annually which is why we need your expertise.
Instructors have the most hands-on interaction with the guests, helping them make each piece of art while communicating the process and facilitating a fun atmosphere. The assistants bring bits, put work in the annealers, answer questions, and, in general, help make sure the class runs smoothly. We pride ourselves on offering fair compensation for our instructors and assistants, as well as offering many training opportunities for our glassmakers.
This position guarantees a specific number of hours per week (typically 10) to assist in workshops and Make-It-Now events. The goal of this position is to progress to an instructor position. Training happens regularly to help with this progression. This position also receives priority scheduling in the hot shop to use compensation hours.
To apply, send an email with details about your interest in the position, previous teaching experience, at least one reference with an email and phone number that can speak to your teaching experience, and five images of your work to jobsearch@pittsburghglasscenter.org.
This position guarantees a specific number of hours per week (typically 20) to instruct and work with the public making objects in workshops and Make-It-Now events. This position receives priority scheduling in the hot shop to use compensation hours. This position starts off seasonal with the potential of becoming a year-round permanent position.
To apply, send an email with details about your interest in the position, previous teaching experience, at least one reference with an email and phone number that can speak to your teaching experience, and five images of your work to jobsearch@pittsburghglasscenter.org.
These teaching artists can pick and choose the events they want to work at PGC in any of the studios. This is great for people looking for extra flexibility in their schedule. PGC offers ample opportunities for this position in many roles and it can easily complement any of the other positions to create more working hours if desired. Each instructor and TA must be approved by the studio manager. PGC offers comparable pay for instructors and TAs to other glass studios around the country.
To apply, send an email with details about your interest in the position, previous teaching experience, at least one reference with an email and phone number that can speak to your teaching experience, and five images of your work to jobsearch@pittsburghglasscenter.org.
The Technical Apprenticeship (typically 32 hours/week) is an educational work opportunity designed for students who have completed their undergraduate study in glass art (or who have similar experience but have not completed a four-year degree program) and are looking to gain professional studio experience in a state-of-the-art, public-access studio. Unlimited access to all of the studios (when not in use), housing, and a living stipend are all part of the compensation package. Many of PGC’s tech apprentices stay in Pittsburgh and continue to work with glass. You can also find graduates of the program at respected glass institutions around the country or running their own successful studios.
See complete program details and apply.
