Word by Mayor

---

Since the clear olive-green "Niijima Glass" was first made from kogaseki stone (riolite) produced on our island, "Glass Island" has become another name for Niijima. Hoping to develop this island into a center for international exchange in glass art, we established the Niijima Glass Art Center in 1988, and in the same year hosted "The First Niijima International Glass Art Festival." Since then, we have been hosting this festival annually.

Thanks to support given by many artists and groups, the festival has come to enjoy high reputation, and now draws attention of many as an important annual event in the world of glass. The Niijima Contemporary Glass Art Museum has been built to house and exhibit mainly the works which were created at our past festivals and donated to us by internationally-known artists taking part in them. As a museum to house a contemporary glass collection, I believe it is an institution that Niijima Island could boast for the quality of its contents. I hope that all who visit this museum will truly enjoy seeing these wonderful works of art, produced by enormous collective energy of all the people who have participated in our festival.

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to all the artists who have kindly donated their works to this museum, and to the staff members of the Niijima Glass Art Center and Niijima Glass Association for their effort in organizing and managing the annual festival.

March 1997

Takeyoshi Degawa
Mayor, Niijima Village

---

I Museum index I Japanese text I