The Students and Staff of the Ceramics Department at the Glasgow School of Art invite you to the opening night of their exhibition, presenting works of protest against the closure of Scotland’s last ceramics department.

The exhibition will be held at the Owl and Lion Gallery, 15 The Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2HS. Runs from Friday 29th February until Sunday 2nd March (one weekend only). Opening hours 10 till 6pm.

Join the artists for the opening night at 5pm on Friday 29th February.

Click on the link below for the flyer:

Exhibition at Grassmarket, Edinburgh

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART CERAMICS DEPARTMENT.

Despite all the bad news with the recent QILT vote to go through with the closure of the Ceramics Department at the Glasgow School of Art, there is still hope. Student power and the power of the community is invaluable in reversing the policy of the institution and the government who seem intent on wiping out ceramic practice in Scotland.

Are you an art practitioner or student? With funding cuts affecting the closure of an entire discipline in Scotland, who’s to say whether your department won’t be next? Is Ceramics only the first department in a long line of planned cuts? How long will the Glasgow School of Art remain open?

Is art culturally valuable? What will happen to Scottish identity if the next generation of Scottish artists don’t have access to education  or the means for cultural expression through art? How will this affect tourism and our community? We need YOUR help to succeed!

Now all the information you need has been added centrally on one blog that is accessible to all. Click here to view the blog. There you will be able to sign our petition to express your support. You will also find a permanent link to the new blog on the right hand side of this page. If you’ve already signed our petition, your letters addressed to the GSA executive, to your local government representative and to your local press, in support of the ceramics department are invaluable.

Thank you for your support.

SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART CERAMICS DEPARTMENT.

Well, I’m in Australia for my one month residency at the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University. So good to be back! The sunshine is amazing, it feels like heaven on my skin after the Scottish winter.

Eucalyptus Tree, burnt during the Canberra bush fires, in January 2003, at Kambah Pool by the Murrumbidgee River.

It is wonderful to catch up with my friends, whom I’ve been missing so much. I’m also really pleased to see my teachers and supervisors, it’s truly amazing to be able to speak with them face to face. So many questions that I’ve been grappling and struggling with all semester, finally answered, in some cases in the space of two minutes flat.

Also, many obligations discovered, like, my WIPs, which are part of every graduate student’s yearly ritual. I’ll be presenting mine on Thursday 6th of March at 3pm. These are the very first ones in the graduate season this year. I’ll be presenting both my theory and studio work in progress on Thursday. The working title is:

Interpreting the reality of the virtual
from an art practice perspective.

The WIPs will be held in the CSA lecture theater and are open to all ANU School of Art staff and students. Here is a little blurb pertaining to the direction of my new, planned work:

In ceramics, we speak about the internal space of objects in terms of containment - the empty negative space inside the walls of an object, whether it is functional or sculptural. A space that is ready to receive something - be it something physical such as a liquid, or a concept such as feelings or memories - something metaphorical.

Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Nine Tables), 1998
Concrete and polystyrene.

It is internal space which mostly makes up the volume that pushes out against the external world, for instance your fingers, as you hold something, like a tea bowl.

There are interesting physical characteristics that ceramic objects can take on - such as two objects of the same volume can appear like one holds more volume than another, or one can seem lighter than another, despite being the same weight.

Margaret Realica, The Reconnect, 2005.
Porcelain, plexiglass, tube, electrical parts

When talking about the virtual, we also talk about space - cyberspace, virtual space. Yet what is it? It isn’t space as we understand it, in a physical sense. You can’t fill it up with tea. Yet you can, as a conceptual space, fill it up with a representation of yourself, your knowledge, feelings or memories, your fantasies - or a representation of tea, if you so desire.
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For everyone who has been following the developments at the Glasgow School of Art, with the proposed closure of the ceramics department, the only remaining undergraduate ceramics course on offer in Scotland, I am including below a document, which was presented to the board on Monday 20th February by Ester Svensson, student representative for full time undergraduate students (The formatting in the article below is my own):

If you would like to download and print out this document, this is a pdf copy: Letter from students for GSA Board of Studies meeting.

The Future of Ceramic Design
Students’ Response
Ceramics (Full-time) Student Representative
Febuary 2008

1). The lack of consultation.

The recommendation states “for the past five years the undergraduate pathway of BA (Hons) Design in Ceramics and Ceramic Design has been under scrutiny.” What form did this scrutiny take?

A review was announced in September (2007), but did not seem to actually materialize. A review meeting had been scheduled with the ceramics staff on Monday 4th (Febuary), but was canceled, and the next day the recommendation was announced to the staff. It came as a shock, both to staff and students.

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Considering the grim news about the imminent proposed closure of the GSA Ceramics Department - the fate of which is to be decided at a Board of Studies meeting this Monday 18th February, I’ve decided to highlight some of the excellent undergraduate talent currently coming out of the Glasgow School of Art ceramics program.

If this program closes, there will be no undergraduate ceramics courses at university level available for study in either of the major cities in Scotland. What will this mean for Scottish ceramic art and Scottish culture as a whole? Can such a small country afford to turn it’s back on contemporary artists? Will future generations of artists be lost to England or abroad elsewhere? Will Scotland lose that avenue for social commentary and creative expression?

Ester Svensson, 4th year honors student, in her space at GSA

This is some of the most interesting, original and innovative work that I’ve seen to date. Ester is a young artist who is interested in multiculturalism, myth and storytelling. To view Ester’s work - click here.

Furthermore, Ester took a year off her university studies last year and traveled to Afghanistan, where she worked for the Turquise Mountain Foundation. The Foundation is involved with helping to restore historic sites and keep traditional craft skills from disappearing, providing employment and income for families recovering from the devastation of war.  Ester worked with Afghani potters in a cultural exchange of knowledge and skill for a full year, visiting ceramics restoration workshops and a ceramics school. To view the incredibly beautiful photographs of ancient and rarely before seen ceramic art from her journeys click here.

To everyone who has written letters of support for the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department, a big THANK YOU.

Ester Svensson and three other student representatives, as well as Archie McCall, Head of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Design and former head of the Ceramics Department, met with the Head of the Design School, Professor McAra McWilliam on Tuesday 12th February and handed her the letters. Unfortunately the Director of the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Seona Reid could not attend.

Here is an excerpt from Ester’s email about the meeting:

Hello everyone,

ester

To everyone who reads this blog:

PLEASE HELP US SAVE THE CERAMICS DEPARTMENT
AT THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART.

Ester Svensson’s email address is: thisisestersaddress at gmail dot com

I have just received news that the Head of the School of Design, Professor Irene McAra McWilliam, announced to the student body today that the school is to stop accepting enrollments from new students in ceramics, with a view to closing the department down.

The official reason for the closure is that the department has not received enough interest from prospective students for keeping it running to remain a viable option. This, however, seems incorrect, as always in the past there have been more new applicants than places available.

With the recent amalgamation of the Ceramics Department at the Edinburgh College of Art with the Sculpture Department, it appears that all options for skills based degrees for ceramic artists in Scotland are being closed.

I have recently moved to Scotland and have been involved with the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department while studying for my MPhil degree in Ceramics through the Australian National University. Indeed, the ANU has had a long standing exchange and working relationship with the Glasgow School of Art, as have many other institutions throughout the world.

I have found the knowledge, skills and generosity of Archie McCall, Bill Brown, Irene Bell and Wendy Kershaw to be outstanding. Their hard work, expertise, mentorship and love of teaching is all that stands against the loss of talent, continuity of the Scottish ceramic tradition and skill for the next generation of Scottish contemporary ceramic artists and designers.

The Glasgow School of Art offers a design perspective to the study of ceramics, including unique state of the art screen printing and plaster working facilities. It is widely connected with ceramics industry and specializes in Architectural Ceramics.

It is indeed a shock for me, as well as for all ceramics students at the department to hear these news. As a result, the student body is due to meet with the Executive on Tuesday the 12th of February, to express their concerns. It would be incredibly helpful if they could bring any messages with them that express support for their cause.

I ask that all of you forward this message to anyone who has studied, taught at, or visited the Glasgow School of Art Ceramics Department.

Messages of protest regarding the proposed closure should be directed to the Director of the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Seona Reid (s dot reid at gsa dot ac dot uk) or to the Head of the School of Design at the Glasgow School of Art, Professor Irene McAra McWilliam (i dot mcara-mcwilliam at gsa dot ac dot uk). Furthermore, messages can be emailed to Ester Svensson (thisisestersaddress at gmail dot com), who is a 4th year honors student in ceramics and she will print them out and present them at the student meeting with the GSA executive on this Tuesday, 12th February.

I thank you in advance for any support that you are able to offer.