For two weeks, Gravers Lane Gallery in Chestnut Hill has showcased intricate creations, each piece a testament to the talent of Philadelphia high school students in The Stained Glass Project.

The initiative is a volunteer-run after-school arts program that offers students an opportunity to explore the technically demanding discipline of stained glass craftsmanship. Under the guidance of skilled mentors, participants have not only honed their artistic skills but have also gained invaluable confidence and self-expression.

The exhibit, which opened June 1 at Gravers Lane, will close Friday, June 14.

This year’s windows were created by students at The Crefeld School in Chestnut Hill and Science Leadership Academy in Center City. 

The Project, which began in the mid-2000s at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG), has propelled dozens of teens to explore their creativity including the Germantown High School students who were the first to be part of the initiative.

Each year, students attend weekly workshops and create stained glass windows that are donated to institutions around the world. Their work is displayed in a New Orleans school rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina, an orphanage in Africa and at Covenant House for unhoused youth in Philadelphia. 

This year, the work will be donated to The Ali Forney Center which serves LGBTQ+ youth in New York.

After 20 years under the leadership of co-founders Paula Mandel and Joan Myerson Shrager, the program will soon have new directors, Sammie Gualtieri and Kate Crankshaw. To honor the out-going directors, friends of the initiative are raising funds to create scholarships that will help students continue to study the craft at schools throughout the nation. 

For information, visit kendrickrec.com/stained-glass-project; graverslanegallery.com.