About the Bay Area Glass Institute

The Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) provides accessible, hands-on glass experiences that educate and inspire current and future generations of patrons, students and artists.

BAGI was founded in 1996 to fulfill three main goals: 

• To educate the public about glass art.
• To provide an affordable studio for emerging and established glass artists to pursue their artistic endeavors.
• To provide events that bring the public and artists in contact to encourage the exchange of ideas and the collecting of original artwork.

BAGI is the only public access glass-working facility in Santa Clara County that has fully functional glassblowing, fusing and torch working studios. As a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, BAGI is funded in part by the City of San Jose's Office of Cultural Affairs and the Arts Council Silicon Valley.

We educate the public by hosting glass art exhibits, teaching classes and inviting the public to an operational glass studio. All of these activities are designed to generate excitement about glass art, provide an opportunity for us to describe glass-forming techniques and answer questions, and to allow the public to meet glass artists. 

We rent studio time, giving artists a place to practice their craft. We also help emerging artists by providing them assistance in showing their work at BAGI, being a part of BAGI's public demonstrations, and by inviting them to participate in BAGI’s large-scale exhibitions such as the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch® and the Great Glass Auction.

BAGI programs bring Silicon Valley residents hands-on glass experiences that educate and inspire them to connect with their creative side.  We will continue to expand educational and team-oriented programs to students, artists and the general public.