The Adele and Leonard Leight Glass Art Award – Artist Talk
Speaker and Awardee: Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez

August 7^th 5:30-6:30 pm, Grand Hall

Cash bar available 5-6 pm

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Join us for an intimate artist talk with Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez, the inaugural recipient of the Adele and Leonard Leight Glass Art Award, as she discusses her newly commissioned installation for the Speed Art Museum. Drawing from her Iranian and Puerto Rican heritage, Ahmadizadeh explores themes of cultural memory, displacement, and reconnection through glass. Her installation, situated in the original 1927 building’s Gallery 1, acts as a portal to ancestral spaces—integrating found Persian carpet designs and imagery from her grandfather’s home to reflect a deeply personal journey of reclamation and belonging.

Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez will offer an in-depth exploration of her work using glass and neon light, based in a poetic practice. She will share how her current research forms a bridge between past and present, allowing for a visual and emotional dialogue between her own experiences and her family’s ancestral history.  

The artist will provide insight into the technical processes of glassmaking and neon tube bending, with a particular focus on the new Adele and Leonard Leight Glass Art Award commission at the Speed Art Museum. Additionally, the talk will include a special poetry reading, where the artist will recite her own written pieces that complement the themes and emotions found in her past and current works. The readings will reveal the emotional layers of her practice, touching on the complex joys and sorrows of family, friendship, and love. 

This talk is part of the Speed’s ongoing commitment to supporting emerging voices in contemporary glass art.

The Adele and Leonard Leight Glass Art Award –
Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez: an open window inside my heart where you should be