Search
Slovensky

RONA 2026 INTERNATIONAL GLASS SYMPOSIUM

Invitations Studio Glass Applied Arts

The RONA 2026 International Glass Symposium will bring together fourteen artists from nine countries in Lednické Rovne from 21 to 26 September. Part of the Trenčín 2026 European Capital of Culture programme, the symposium will also offer a public programme culminating on Saturday, 26 September. Visitors can look forward to an exhibition of works created during the symposium, an open day at RONA, the traditional St Michael’s Fair and a ride on a historic train from Trenčín to Lednické Rovne.

–

RONA Gallery

  • 26 September from 10:00 - exhibition of works created directly during the symposium
  • 26 September from 8:00 to 12:00 - RONA Open Day

The RONA International Glass Symposium, with a tradition spanning more than thirty years, will create a space for collaboration between contemporary artists and leading Slovak glass craftspeople. Together, they will explore new artistic possibilities of handmade glass and connect traditional craft techniques with contemporary art.

Poster for the RONA 2026 International Glass Symposium in Lednické Rovne, taking place from 21 to 26 September 2026. A blue and pink background featuring glassmaking is overlaid with a green panel showing the event title and a list of participating artists and curators from several countries.

Handmade glass as heritage and future

The theme of handmade glass was not chosen for this year’s symposium by chance. It highlights not only the importance of craftsmanship and the preservation of traditional skills, but also their potential for contemporary artistic practice and the future of glassmaking.

“It is not only about tradition, but also about the future. In 2023, handmade glass production was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Six countries took part in the nomination, including the Czech Republic, but unfortunately Slovakia was not among them. An event such as our symposium could help us join the nomination as soon as possible,” says Patrik Illo, curator of the symposium.

For this year’s edition, Patrik Illo invited Petr Nový from the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou to join him as the second curator.

“I have already collaborated with Patrik on two international student symposia in Novohrad. We have known each other for many years, and I think we know how to complement one another without getting in each other’s way, so I was very happy to accept this invitation, which I greatly appreciate,” said Petr Nový.

Fourteen artists from nine countries

The international character of the symposium is reflected in the participation of artists from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Estonia, Spain and Morocco.

The symposium will be attended by Amine Asselman (MA), Peter Ďuriš (SK), Patrik Illo (SK), Aleksandra Kujawska (PL), Kaappo Lähdesmäki (FI), Michal Motyčka (CZ), Zuzana Omelchenko (SK), Ladislav Pagáč (SK), Rita G. Rivera (ES), Torsten Rötzsch (DE), Martin Sedlák (SK), Aleksandra Stencel (SK/PL), Balázs Telegdi (HU) and Kristiina Uslar (EE).

Expert perspectives on contemporary glass art and its broader cultural context will be provided by Naďa Kančevová (SK), Petr Nový (CZ), Jana Šindelová (CZ) and Lyubomira Valcheva-Nundloll (BG/FR).

The symposium opens to the public

The six-day symposium will culminate on Saturday, 26 September at 10:00 in RONA Gallery with an exhibition of works created directly during the symposium. On the same day, the RONA factory itself will also open to the public, with an Open Day taking place from 8:00 to 12:00.

Glass production in Lednické Rovne has been operating since 1892 and is associated with several important technological innovations. The first pantograph on the European continent was put into operation here, and in the 1950s designer Karol Hološko contributed to the development of a method for producing stemmed glasses using the so-called pulled-stem technique. In 2001, glassmakers in Lednické Rovne introduced the world’s first automated machine for producing this type of drinking glass.

The tradition of glass symposia in Lednické Rovne dates back to 1994. Since 2012, under the curatorial direction of Patrik Illo, chief designer at the RONA glassworks and head of the Glass Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, their focus has gradually shifted from design towards artist-made objects, experiments, installations and conceptual art, while more strongly connecting Lednické Rovne with the international studio glass scene.

 

  • The RONA 2026 International Glass Symposium is held as part of the Trenčín 2026 European Capital of Culture project.
  • The project is organised by Trenčín 2026. The project is financially supported by the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The European Union is a partner of the project.
  • Event organiser: SK-LLO (civic association)
  • Event partners: Trenčín 2026, Trenčín Self-Governing Region, Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, RONA a.s., Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou, Municipality of Lednické Rovne, Slovak Glass Society, FunGlass, dizajnDEPO