RECTORS COVER ALT film 22/11/06 11:56 am Page 1 rector’s review 05/06 Royal College of Art Kensington Gore London SW7 2EU www.rca.ac.uk RECTORS COVER ALT film 22/11/06 11:56 am Page 2 ‘The objects of the College are to advance learning, knowledge and professional competence particularly in the field of fine arts, in the principles and practice of art and design in their relation to industrial and commercial processes and social developments and other subjects relating thereto through teaching, research and collaboration with industry and commerce.’ Charter of Incorporation of the Royal College of Art, 28 July 1967 Visitor: His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Provost: Sir Terence Conran Pro-Provost and Chairman of the Council: Ian Hay Davison CBE Rector and Vice-Provost: Professor Sir Christopher Frayling Editor: Alison Sedgwick Design: Happily Ever After www.happily-ever-after.co.uk Photography: Alys Tomlinson Dominic Sweeny Printed by: Balding + Mansell Printed on Munken Print White. FSC Certified, mixed sources from well managed forests and other controlled sources. Contents Rector’s Introduction 3 Other College 43 Departments and College Year in Brief 4 2005/2006 Selected Highlights 6 Activities Exhibitions 44 External Relations 44 Department Reviews 11 Computing Services 45 School of Applied Art 12 Estates & Buildings 45 Ceramics & Glass 12 Students’ Union 46 Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, 13 College-wide and Graduate Initiatives 46 Metalwork & Jewellery LearnRCA 46 InnovationRCA 47 School of Architecture and Design 14 Architecture 14 Donors and Sponsors 48 Design Products 16 Industrial Design Engineering 17 Interaction Design 18 College Honours and 51 Vehicle Design 19 Appointments School of Communications 21 Animation 21 Student Statistics 53 Communication Art & Design 23 Applications 2006/7 54 School of Fashion and Textiles 24 Students 2006/7 55 Fashion Menswear 24 Graduate Destinations 55 Fashion Womenswear 24 Overseas Students’ Nationalities 56 Textiles 26 School of Fine Art 27 Painting 27 Photography 28 Printmaking 29 Sculpture 30 Drawing Studio 31 School of Humanities 32 RCA/V&A Conservation 32 Curating Contemporary Art 33 History of Design V&A/RCA 34 Critical & Historical Studies 35 Post Experience Programmes 35 Research 37 Research at the RCA 38 Helen Hamlyn Research Centre 41 Rector’s Introduction This has been a year where there’s been emphasis on the creative as well as the College – which we celebrated with a a lot of emphasis in public debate on the economy, it is important that this message dinner involving many veteran members cultural and economic importance of the comes over loud and clear to the worlds of of staff and ex-students. At that event, creative industries. The publication higher education and industry. Not just we reminded ourselves that the ‘Pride’ in autumn 2005 of the Cox Review of ‘the new economy’, but – crucially – the range of cutlery by David Mellor – first Creativity in Business – written by Sir connection between ‘the new economy’ exhibited at the RCA student show half a George Cox, my successor as Chairman and the ‘old’ as well. century ago – is still in production today, of the Design Council – amongst other and still successful. things stressed the urgent importance The College once again welcomed tens of national centres of excellence within of thousands of visitors to its annual In those days, the annual exhibitions higher education, centres which will exhibition of graduating student’s work usually took place next door at the old combine creativity, design, technology and our Provost Sir Terence Conran very Imperial Institute. Finding the space to and business – and the report added that generously sponsored the summer Show enable the College to reach its full luckily the seeds of one of them exists through the Conran Foundation – and potential was a problem then and it already at the Royal College of Art, instituted the first-ever Conran Awards. remains a problem today. Following our through its joint course with Imperial More good news came in September when withdrawal from the Ellipse public enquiry, College London. Our Innovation Unit, the inventor and designer James Dyson we have been exploring the site for ‘a our design programmes, our relationship presented the College with a cheque for second campus’ in Battersea, near the with business and our growing interest £100,000 from his charity, the James Sculpture Department – which is itself to in science and design have all put us in Dyson Foundation. The gift followed a have a major refurbishment in 2007–8. If an excellent position to contribute, as this design rights court battle from which he all goes well, this ‘second campus’ in debate moves centre stage. The Chancellor had emerged triumphant. We will spend Battersea will help to resolve our space of the Exchequer Gordon Brown visited the money, which will be supplemented problems for the foreseeable future. The part two of the summer Show and was following future victories, on helping the Director of Administration is leading on impressed by our take on “the new students to understand the importance of this, with Sir Idris Pearce of the Council economy.” He had glimpsed, he said, intellectual property. chairing the Estates Committee. The “some creative industries of the future.” refenestration of the entire Darwin Following last year's successful visit to complex over the summer proved a very The department entries that follow provide NewYork, and with joint initiatives there in complex building project, and a traumatic a detailed guide to the achievements of the progress, the International Development one, but in the end worthwhile. past year. They reveal that the College Group this year targeted universities and continues to perform its important role, a cultural organisations in China. Professor Where research is concerned, this has national role and an international one, as Dan Fern, Chair of the IDG, travelled first to been a successful year in attracting a crucible of the creative industries, and Hong Kong before being joined by Professor externally funded research grants (from to perform it well. The French newspaper Alan Cummings and Professor Jeremy the AHRC, EPSRC and elsewhere). The Libération, writing of the international Myerson in Beijing; the trio then went on to AHRC-funded Centre for the Study of the animation festival at Annecy, referred Shanghai where they met key individuals in Domestic Interior came to an end in style to our animation course as ‘la crème universities, businesses, arts organisations – with a major exhibition at the V&A, At anglaise’ and as ‘une couveuse à génies’ – and the dynamic new 'cultural industry Home in Renaissance Italy, two important an ‘incubator of geniuses’, which even I centres' which are currently being set up book publications, several conferences would hesitate to claim – and nearly half with great success throughout China. The and symposia and an extensive database. of the artists chosen for Bloomberg new IDG was able to build on contacts already The academic year 2006/7 will be crucial contemporaries were either current made by several RCA departments as well for our research performance in the 2007 students or recent graduates. As we as establishing a number of potentially Research Assessment Exercise, both become more and more focused on how fruitful new connections. where the research is concerned, and its to sustain and enhance the creative compilation into the College’s written economy – during the implementation This year was also the fiftieth anniversary submission to the panel. of the Cox Review – always keeping an of the teaching of Industrial Design at the 2 Among this year’s leavers was Teresa members of the Council (especially the Gleadowe, who as our first-ever course Provost, the Chairman, the Treasurer and director in Curating Contemporary Art, the Chairman of the Estates Committee) has earned for that course over the last for helping to make this such a memorable 14 years the international reputation it year. Above all my thanks go to all the currently enjoys; Graham Crowley, who students for making the College such a for the last eight years has been our continually unpredictable, maddening as energetic, effective and genial Professor well as energising place, which it should of Painting; David Watkins, who since 1984 always be. This Rector’s Report for 2005/6 has been our Professor of Goldsmithing, will show you some of the reasons why. Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery, taking that course to a pre-eminent position and Brian Godbold who left the College quite some time ago (without a qualification!), but who has been on our Council for 14 years and Vice-Chairman for four. Sadly, we lost forever Alan Fletcher, one of the founders of Pentagram, and one of the most influential figures in post-war British graphic design, who studied at the College from 1953 to 1956. We also lost Ginette Darwin – widow of Robin Darwin, our Rector throughout the 1950s and 1960s who instituted the recognisably modern College. We held a well-attended memorial gathering for Bruce Archer, who was the College’s first Professor of Design Research and on the teaching staff from 1961–1988. We warmly welcome to the ranks of new Professors this year, Olivier Richon of Photography, and Dale Harrow of Vehicle Professor Sir Christopher Frayling Design; and we welcome Professor Mark Nash as the new Head of Curating Contemporary Art. These appointments are accolades for the individuals – and for their disciplines