- Gray's School of Art
Infobox_University
name =Gray's School of Art
native_name =
latin_name =
motto =
established =1885
type =Art school
endowment =
staff =
faculty =
chancellor =
principal =
dean =
rector =
free_label = Head of School
free=Dr Stuart MacDonald
students =
undergrad =
postgrad =
doctoral =
city =Aberdeen
country =Scotland
campus =
affiliations =Robert Gordon University ,
website = [http://www.graysartschool.co.uk Gray's School of Art]'s, Gray's is located in the Garthdee grounds of the University.
History
Gray's was founded in 1885 as the "Gray's School of Science and Art", in recognition of the generosity of its founding father, John Gray (1811-1891). A local businessman and philanthropist, Gray had risen from humble beginnings as a carpenter to become partner in McKinnon & Co., a firm of engineers and iron founders in Aberdeen. In 1859 he was appointed director of the Aberdeen Mechanics Institution, a forerunner of Robert Gordon University.
In the early 1880s, John Gray offered to finance and build a new school of science and art in Aberdeen, on the condition that the governors named it 'Gray's School of Science and Art'. His generous offer stemmed partly from the difficulties he himself had experienced obtaining adequate training. The school opened in 1885 with 96 students enrolled for the day classes and 322 for the evening classes. The original building, sited at Schoolhill, gave architectural coherence to the neighbouring
Aberdeen Art Gallery , as was Gray's wish.Garthdee Campus
In the early 1950s, Thomas Scott Sutherland (1899-1963) (an Aberdeen architect who had attended the School of Architecture at "Robert Gordon's Technical College") gifted his Victorian mansion Garthdee House, and its surrounding estate on the southern outskirts of Aberdeen, to the School of Architecture, along with a substantial endowment. The relocated school opened at Garthdee in 1956 as the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture.
Following on from this development, in 1966 Gray's School of Art was relocated to a function-built
Modernist building on the Garthdee Estate, which marked the beginning ofRGIT 's redevelopment of Garthdee. The Gray's School of Art building has three floors and is designed in a U formation with the large front facade and two wings.The ground floor on the main facade houses the
Printmaking studios and workshops as well as administrative offices, a computer lab, photocopiers andTextile printing workshops. The East Wing houses a Photographic studio, The School Art Shop,refectory and the large First Year Hall. The West Wing houses Ceramics, Jewellery and 3D Design workshops as well as life model changing rooms and two large open-planSculpture studios.Both wings have only one floor, although underneath the Sculpture and First Year studios, which are built into the hill on which the school stands, there are two general woodwork and metalwork workshops.
studios, Textiles studios, Life Drawing rooms, the Head of School's Office in the East Wing and the Printmaking Staff Room in the West.
The Second Floor until recently exclusively housed the Fourth Year Painting studios. However, in the last two years two rooms have been lost to the new Photography and Electronic Media (PEM) course.
In the early 1990s, "temporary" cabins were put in place to house the growing number of students. The are still in use, housing 3D Design studios, Design For Industry studios, Critical and Contextual Studies, and the MFA Programme studios.
In the centre of the school is a grassy quadrangle with seating, and two ponds. In warmer weather the quad is used as a lunchtime hangout for the students.
Expansion
As part of Robert Gordon University's development of the Garthdee Campus, which aims to move all of the University's facilities to Garthdee by 2015, Gray's School of Art is earmarked for refurbishment and expansion.
This will include both the Art School and the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and the Built Environment being co-located on the present Gray's site, with additional floors being built on the East and West wings at Gray's.
Areas of study
Gray's teaches a wide range of Fine Art and Design Subjects. It employs a General First Year where students get a taster of each subject area before choosing which area they want to specialise in from Second to Fourth (Honours) Year.
Design & Craft Programme
*3D Design
*Textile and Surface Design
*Fashion Design
*Visual CommunicationFine Art Programme
*Painting
*Photography and Electronic Media (PEM)
*Printmaking (the only stand-alone printmaking course out of the four Scottish Art Schools)
*SculptureDesign for Industry Programme
*Design for Digital Media
*Graphic Design
*Product DesignPostgraduate Programme
*Master of Fine Art (MFA)
*Master of Design
*Master of Research in Art & DesignDegree Show
Gray's holds an annual Degree Show in June to publicly showcase the work of the students. The opening night is a significant social event for the students, staff and the local arts community. The Degree Show always runs head to head with the
Glasgow School of Art andEdinburgh College of Art Degree Shows. This years Degree Show ran from 13th-21st June.Gray's community
The small size of Grays gives rise to a strong community and social network between current students and alumni, Grays being a strong force in the Aberdeen visual arts scene. The General First Year allows students of each year to get to know each other and maintain friendships across disciplines as they move through the school.
Gray's is often perceived as the "underdog" of the four Scottish art schools, which drives its students to work hard to prove themselves and take a great deal of pride in their school. Every year at the Royal Scottish Academy Student exhibition Grays Students make T-Shirts to symbolise their affinity with the school.
T-Shirt slogans to date have been:
2003: Grays Pride2004: Grays Matter2005: Bona Fide2006: By The Power of Gray's School
Notable alumni
*
Josephine Broekhuizen , artist
*Robert Brough , painter
* Joe Edwards, painter of rural life
*Callum Innes ,Turner Prize nominated painter
*Donnie Munro , Scottish musician
*David Blyth , Sculptor,Huntly Artist in Residence
*George Collier (artist) (b. 1973), Scottish painter, represented in the collection ofAberdeen Art Gallery External links
* [http://www.graysartschool.co.uk Gray's School of Art]
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