The Contemporary Glass Society is delighted to be exhibiting once again at the Pyramid Gallery, York. CGS is inviting members in the UK to submit artwork for consideration that celebrates the concept of Steam either as a gas or the use of Steam for transportation or any other application.

We are now accepting submissions for our STEAM exhibition at the Pyramid Gallery in York.

The exhibition will be open between the 6th September to 1st November 2025.

An exhibition of studio glass inspired by Steam and the invention of the Steam Engine and First passenger steam train 200 years ago.

Terry Brett loves to push our members to use their imagination through an inspiring theme, this year it is STEAM. The first steam train ran in 1825.

The first passenger steam train ran on the Stockton & Darlington Railway in England on September 27, 1825. The locomotive, called Locomotion No. 1, carried passengers at a speed of 15 miles (24 km) per hour.

Robert Trevithick, a Cornishman, who in 1803 built the first steam locomotive to run on rails and George Stephenson built his first steam engine in 1814. In 1821 he persuaded a businessman who was planning a horse-drawn railway from Stockton-on-Tees to Darlington in County Durham to order a steam locomotive for the line. In 1825 the engine, later called Locomotion, took 450 people 25 miles from Darlington to Stockton at 15 miles per hour. This was the first outing of the world’s first public passenger steam train.

By 1830 Stephenson’s new locomotive, the Rocket, which could achieve a speed of 36 miles per hour, was operating on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in Lancashire with other ‘iron horses’ built in the factory he had now opened in Newcastle.

For the exhibition ‘Steam’, CGS is inviting members in the UK to submit work for selection that celebrates either the concept of Steam as a gas or the use of Steam for transportation or any other application.

Criteria:

We are sorry but on this occasion, work can only be accepted by artists living in the UK.

Up to three pieces of work can be submitted, or a group of small pieces. 

• Entrants must be paid up members of the Contemporary Glass Society.
• Work must comprise of at least 50% medium of glass.
• Work submitted for consideration must have been made after 1st January, 2021
• The work must be for sale
• It must be possible to deliver selected works to Pyramid Gallery by 1st September 2025
• The artist must complete all points included in the application form.
• Artists can submit up to 3 pieces of work. Please use a separate submission form for each artwork
• We welcome wall pieces as well as plinth based work
• The work must be available until mid November, 2025 to allow time to pack and return work following the end of the exhibition.
•  Work must be resilient to both heat and light as it is not possible to control environmental factors in the Gallery

Selection : 

The selection will be made by a panel including Terry Brett, a CGS Board member and an independent artist tbc.
We aim to select a number of artists to show a cross section of glass making techniques. This will take place during June.  Artists will be notified by end of June; if you have not heard by 30th June, please assume you have not been selected.  We will attempt to notify everyone but depending on number of applicants this may not be possible.

Delivery and collection:

• Work must be received by 1st September 2025
• Selected work must be sent to: The Pyramid Gallery, 43 Stone gate York YO1 8AW.  
• Make sure it is packed well keeping the package as small as possible; put your name on the outside of your package, a small image of your piece and the reference CGS STEAM. 
• A Delivery Note must be included with your work, plus any specific display instructions. Also title of work and Artist price.  Do make sure work is packed well.
• Attach a label to each piece so it can be easily identified
• Any unsold work must be collected by artists or collection arranged at their cost.  

Insurance:

Work will be insured from arrival at Pyramid Gallery for the duration of the exhibition until work is either collected or despatched. 

No responsibility can be accepted by the venue for any damage incurred to exhibits whilst in storage or during transit. Transportation and insurance of exhibits to and from the venue space is the sole responsibility of the artist.

Marketing and Publicity;

Please ensure that all images you send are available for us to use for publicity and that you have copyright. If the artist does not have copyright please provide the name of the photographer who will be credited accordingly. Images should be a minimum of 300dpi.

Image Files should have your name, title of work, date, size and photo credit.

To help market the work we ask that selected artists pay £30 towards publicity for the show. This will be invoiced in August 2025.

Selling work:

All work should be for sale, the Gallery will add 40% (plus VAT) commission. From this a donation of 10% of the gallery profit will be paid to CGS for administration.  You should give the price that you want to receive and the gallery will mark it up by x 1.95.
Example; artists price £1,000, the item will be for sale at £1,950.
If the artist is VAT registered, then the selling price will be £2400 and the artist will receive £1200  ( includes 20% VAT )

Location: Pyramid Gallery, 43 Stonegate, York YO1 8AW, Tel. 01904641187

Exhibition Opening: Saturday 6th September 12noon – 3pm, exhibiting artists are encouraged to attend.

This is a selected show open to all CGS Members.

An administration fee will be £15. This is non-refundable. Once selected, we shall ask each successful artist for a marketing contribution of £30. Selection will be in June 2025.

If you’re not already a member of CGS, you can join to take part, see  Become a Member: Contemporary Glass Society (cgs.org.uk)  As well as making you eligible for this exciting exhibition, you’ll be part of a dynamic contemporary glass community and receive valuable membership benefits – see full details at www.cgs.org.uk.