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.

Ahmadizadeh will share insights into her creative process, the significance of glass in her practice, and how her work challenges and expands traditional narratives of identity and craft.

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