Turner Prize winner and expert on MacKintosh receive GSA doctorates
Born in Glasgow's Pollokshields, her work is rooted in her Sikh upbringing and spans sculpture, installation, sound and video.
She said: 'It was unexpected, but a total honour to be awarded the Honorary Doctorate this year, especially as Glasgow and The Glasgow School of Art are such significant places to me.
'They are both places that have shaped me, and I think often of how fortunate I am to have had access to free education, which was totally life-changing.'
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Professor Penny Macbeth, Director and Principal of The Glasgow School of Art, added: 'Today marks a key moment for our graduates as they move forward into the next stage of their creative careers, equipped with skills they have learned during their time here at The Glasgow School of Art and applying them in new roles across the creative sector.
'This year's honorary doctorates are exemplars of the impact and legacy that our global creative network of graduates can make, demonstrating the value of creative education and the importance that creative people can make in setting the pace, in asking challenging questions, and in offering positive solutions.
'We are proud to award the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of the outstanding success they have each achieved in their respective fields, expanding their research and creative practices to international significance and acclaim. Jasleen Kaur is the seventh GSA graduate to win the prestigious Turner Prize.
'Her interdisciplinary practice explores how we define ourselves and preserve and challenge our traditions. Architect and teacher Hiroaki Kimura has made a significant global contribution to research and knowledge related to Mackintosh, through a long and remarkable relationship with the institution that has spanned over 40 years.'
Professor Stephen Bottomley, Head of the GSA's School of Design, continued: 'Jasleen Kaur was the winner of the 2024 Turner Prize and a graduate from the GSA's world-class BA (Hons) Silversmithing and Jewellery programme, one of the original subjects taught at The Glasgow School of Art's first incarnation as Glasgow Government School of Design, founded in 1845.
'Our graduates run businesses, work in industry, and lead or teach on the UK's leading design programmes. This year, it is especially fitting that we celebrate the practice and standing of one of the world's most respected artists and inspirational teachers in art and design.'
Kimura's award comes for his promotion of Rennie Mackintosh, and that began when he studied in Glasgow and he's now spent four decades sharing his legacy with the rest of the world and in his home country of Japan.
Professor Sally Stewart, Head of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, said: 'While practising and teaching over the last forty years, first in Kobe and subsequently at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, Hiroaki has never ceased to be interested in the studies he began as a student here at The Glasgow School of Art, or the opportunities that those studies opened to him.
'He has fostered and consolidated connections between artists, architects and patrons, between our institutions, professional bodies, and creative communities. Over regular visits to the School, he has recorded the changes to The Glasgow School of Art – occupied and in use, at work and at play, injured, renovated and once again damaged.
'The art school building has become a close friend. His documentation of this remains unparalleled, as does his knowledge of both the mystery and achievements of Mackintosh—an architect from another time but with continuing relevance.'
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The Herald Scotland
26-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
Glasgow School of Art's stained glass studio closure 'ill-judged'
The concern comes as a new stained glass window telling stories of resistance has just been unveiled at the Bridge in Easterhouse, Glasgow. Cameron is one of a number of prominent figures who have criticised the closure of the studio, which had been providing continuing education courses in the craft since the Murals and Stained Glass degree was scrapped in the eighties. Some of those who have attended the classes, taught by artists Eilidh Keith and Geraldine McSporran, have gone on to set up their own glass studios. Read more Dani Garavelli: The GSA took the decision to close the studio in its Haldane building because, it said, it required the space for its expanding number of students. Keith and McSporran are being made redundant. Those who attended the classes insist no effort was made to inform them of the closure. Cameron said he found it hard to believe no alternative space could be found. 'The GSA bought the Stow College building: that's where its fine art department is based. Surely, there's a room in there that could be used,' he said. Professor Dugald Cameron is unhappy with the decision. (Image: George Munro) He spoke out days after the death of Sir Brian Clarke, one of the world's leading contemporary stained glass artists. Collaborating with Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid, Clarke understood that for the artform to survive it must move beyond the religious to the secular. His work can be found in Pfizer's headquarters in Manhattan and Lake Sagami Country Club in Yamanashi, Japan. 'The problem is people don't realise stained glass isn't something only churches do,' Cameron said. 'We have a noble history of it.' Meanwhile, artist Alec Galloway, who has a stained glass studio in Gourock, said the GSA's 'sudden' decision was 'saddening and bewildering'. In 2023, stained glass was added to the Heritage Crafts Association's (HCA) Red List of Endangered Crafts. Galloway described the situation in Scotland as 'a Doomsday clock scenario, where we are in the final seconds.' Glasgow has the most stained glass of any UK city outside of London. In addition to church windows, there is stained glass in its villas, its tenement closes and many of its pubs. A handful of small stained glass studios, including Galloway's, offer recreational classes, but the GSA's was the last attached to an art school. Recent talents to benefit from its teaching include Aoife Hogan, who graduated from the GSA with a first after producing stained glass pieces in the studio. Galloway said the recreational classes were an asset but were mostly for 'hobbyists'. 'They are not producing the kinds of artists who could repair the damage we saw at Notre Dame in Paris,' he said. Galloway taught on Scotland's last stained glass degree course at the Edinburgh College of Art until it was scrapped more than a decade ago. At the time the institution claimed it was too expensive to keep its two furnaces running. But Galloway believes those in charge thought ceramics and stained glass were 'old and messy' and dropped them in favour of clean computer design. There are now no accredited courses in Scotland and only a handful in England. The nearest to the border is the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, which is due to close next year. However, the University of Wales is now running apprenticeship programmes in collaboration with employers. Galloway is one of several campaigners working hard to rectify the situation in Scotland. He is involved in an attempt to buy the Glebe — a B-listed 19th Century former sugar refinery building in Greenock — and turn it into a national stained glass school. Read more Dani Garavelli: Galloway is also working with filmmaker Sarah Purser to try to raise the profile of the craft. Purser, executive producer at Little White Rose films, is on a mission to turn Guy McCrone's Wax Fruit trilogy into a multi-season TV epic. The novels tell the story of the Moorhouse family who rise from humble beginnings to the heights of 19th century Glasgow society. Purser believes the series would showcase the city's heritage and so help to preserve it. As part of this, she has offered to add one of Glasgow's most renowned stained glass artists, Daniel Cottier, to the cast list. 'When Arthur and Bel Moorhouse finally make their move from the squalor of the East End to the glamorous west of the city, they hire global superstars of the architecture and stained glass world to build and design their bespoke mansion – Scots-born geniuses Alexander 'Greek" Thomson and Daniel Cottier,' she explained. 'The Moorhouse Mansion is to be one of the finest, most extravagant and cutting edge residences in the city. But Bel and Arthur's lavish spending and insatiable desire to outdo the creme de la creme will push their already precarious finances to a knife-edge and threaten to topple all that they hold dear." The new stained glass window. (Image: Gordon Terris) Richard Welsh and Keira McLean, who run RDW Glass in Dennistoun, have also been working to shore up the craft. McLean has been trying to set up a new accredited stained course at Langside College and has worked with various community groups to create stained glass windows at libraries across the city. The latest, which tells stories of resistance, including that of activist Cathy McCormack and the poll tax demos, was unveiled at the Bridge in Easterhouse on Thursday, July 24. But their efforts are not being matched by the authorities tasked with preserving our heritage. Having secured the space and the materials for her course, McLean has struggled to obtain funding to cover her fee. As for the GSA, Cameron says it has not responded to his email, though he discussed the situation with a member of its senior staff, and responses to freedom of information requests on the details of consultations it claims were carried out are so redacted as to be meaningless. 'Since I retired, I have tried to support the art school because I do love the place,' Cameron said. 'But it needs to be more careful of its history and its USP. It needs to consider what it can contribute today that other people can't.'
The Herald Scotland
18-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
The Glasgow-based artist that's inspired by 'mudlarking'
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The Herald Scotland
17-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
I fear for Glasgow's listed buildings in the hands of city's leaders
This week, Mark Smith wrote that an appeal by the owner of the Vogue cinema in Possilpark to revoke the category C listing was thankfully rejected by the reporter appointed by Scottish ministers ("Incoherent, inconsistent, confused and ineffective", The Herald, July 14). Due to a communication failure between Glasgow City Council and Historic Environment Scotland, the empty cinema had already been partly demolished, a failure which was underlined in the reporter's decision. On June 17, Glasgow City Council's planning committee met to approve or reject the proposal for a 356-bed student block which would utterly obscure the south elevation of Mackintosh's Category A-listed masterwork, the Glasgow School of Art. It was clear that some members of the committee could not read the drawings provided by the applicant and I was utterly astonished by their complete lack of critical assessment as they approved the proposals, against the advice of Historic Environment Scotland, thereby putting in jeopardy the 'faithful reinstatement' of the building promised by the art school leadership. Consequently, I am genuinely fearful about the future of the city's listed buildings and its architectural heritage in the hands of its current leadership, councillors and planning officials. Professor Alan Dunlop FRIAS, Aberfoyle. Read more letters When small isn't beautiful Alister MacLeod (Letters, July 14) asked whether large numbers of mini-wind power generators might feasibly replace 'giant wind turbines' and be effective suppliers of electric power to the grid. Unfortunately, small turbines can deliver only small amounts of power and, as he surmised, the number of mini-generators would be huge. 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We are perhaps used to feeling the power of the wind blowing on our faces or the heat from the sun burning our skin. In reality, however, neither wind nor solar power are energy-dense and, as long as we seek to enjoy our power-hungry lifestyles, we will require energy-dense power sources such as fossil and nuclear fuels. Norman Bolton, Newton Mearns. Let's have more culture For good reason the Letters Pages in The Herald tend to be dominated by political, economic and social issues such as the constitution, international conflicts, taxation and the gender debate. Many of the contributors take entrenched positions and there is a limit to how many circles can be gone round. Should there be space for discussion on arts and cultural items that have featured in The Herald? In the last few weeks I took on board two of Neil Mackay's recommendations and would have missed them otherwise. 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Protect our libraries With the desperate situation in today's USA of libraries being metaphorically set on fire, could we in Scotland show an example by expanding the service instead of shutting down access? The pathetically small amount of cash needed to continue staffing school and local libraries doesn't come close to the wasted finances over recent years. No matter what your beliefs, woke attitudes, whatever, being able to research and discuss should always take precedence. Jim Campbell, Bearsden. Yesterday's Picture of the Day by reader Jackie Gordon (Image: Contributed) Damselfly confusion Jacki Gordon's Picture of the Day today (The Herald, July 16) was labelled as being a dragonfly and damselfly feeling the love. Sorry, it's a nice photo captured well, but let down by an inaccurate caption. The photo, as probably most viewers will realise, is in fact of a male (the blue-coloured one) and a female damselfly mating. Whether or not they are in love is not for me to say. While this not a guaranteed identification of the species it's likely they are common blue damselflies. (Other blue species are of course available.) Alastair Clark, Stranraer. Just sport, please. Nothing more The padding-out of every single sports event on television, to include pre-match, mid-match and post-match interviews and analyses, has reached new lengths (or heights/depths /limits?). Perhaps we could have just watch the sports without expert advice? Allan McDougall, Neilston.
