Christopher R. Taylor

Christopher R. Taylor is the Executive Director of Pilchuck Glass School. Since his appointment in 2018, he has focused on community relations, staff restructuring, improved financial systems, and significant fundraising. Early in his tenure, Chris passed new strategic priorities that include financial stability, campus care, expanding the audience for glass, and preparation for Pilchuck’s 50th Anniversary. The pandemic caused two consecutive years of cancelled programming. Survival required flexibility, creativity, and strong managerial tools.

Prior to coming to Pilchuck, Chris was the President of The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. In his tenure in Philadelphia, Chris focused on audience development, long-range planning, and launching of a capital campaign. From 2001 – 2006, he ran his own consulting firm, TaylorArts Group, which provided fundraising and planning services to small and mid-sized arts organizations in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Chris has served on a number of boards including American Craft Council, Artist Image Resource, Art Unleashed, and the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia. He has served as a grant review panelist for the PA Council on the Arts, Windgate Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He holds a BFA in Sculpture and Ceramics and a BA Religious studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In 2007, he attained a Masters in Arts Administration & Policy from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a thesis topic of Arts Advocacy.

Presentation title:  Pilchuck:  50 years of International Glass Art Education

Abstract:  Pilchuck’s Executive Director will offer a brief history of Pilchuck Glass School and its role in the growth of America’s studio glass movement. Continuing in the founding spirit of Artist Dale Chihuly, Pilchuck believes in an exchange of creative ideas by artists teaching artists. While centered on glass as a material, Pilchuck has expanded its glass printmaking or “vitreography” program, performance art, video, new digital technologies, arts scholarship, and community outreach. Looking forward, we hope to integrate more environmentally friendly practices, diversify our operations, and continue to lift the field of glass art and design.