Heart of Glass

General information

Heart of Glass is a national agency for collaborative and social arts practice based in St Helens, UK.

We were founded as St Helens’ response to the Creative People and Places programme, made possible by investment from Arts Council England (ACE).

Through our artistic programme we are interested in examining the role of art and the artist in contemporary civil society by commissioning work that will see passionate and direct interactions between artists and communities of place/interest, offering the possibility through creative critique and shared art making to imagine other ways of being.

Our context is St.Helens, a town of 180,000 people, approaching its 150th anniversary. Previously renowned as an industrial powerhouse and a centre of innovation.

The title of our organisation is Heart of Glass; we are named after the Werner Herzog film of the same title in which a Bavarian townsfolk famous for creating ruby glass believed to have magical properties, falls into a hypnotized state when the master glass blower dies and with him the secret to producing the magical ruby.

This story and metaphor resonates deeply with St Helens, a town that grew in stature and wealth during Queen Victoria’s 64 year reign before a steep and steady decline in industry.

For further details visit

http://www.heartofglass.org.uk/about/our-vision/