Alice Rawsthorn

Alice Rawsthorn (born 1958 in Manchester) is an English journalist and design commentator. As design critic of the "International Herald Tribune" she writes the paper's weekly Design column [ [http://www.iht.com/indexes/special/design/index.php Alice Rawsthorn's Design columns in International Herald Tribune ] ] , and also writes the Object Lesson column for the "New York Times Magazine". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2008/09/28/style/t/index.html#pageName=28rawsthorn Object Lesson columns in the New York Times Magazine ] ] A prominent public speaker and broadcaster on design issues, she is a member of the Global Agenda Council for Design of the World Economic Forum. She is also a trustee of the Whitechapel Gallery in London, and a member of the national council of Arts Council England. [ [http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/PN_ARawsthorn.pdf DCMS announcement of appointment to Arts Council England ] ]

Education and early career in journalism

After graduating in art and architectural history from the Cambridge University in 1980, she won a place on the graduate trainee journalism scheme of the Thomson Organisation and then became media editor of "Campaign" magazine. In 1985, she joined the staff of the "Financial Times", where she worked as a foreign correspondent in Paris and pioneered the paper's coverage of the creative industries before becoming architecture and design critic. [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/my-mentor-cathy-newman-on-alice-rawsthorn-413620.html My mentor, Cathy Newman on Alice Rawsthorn, The Independent ] ]

Work in the arts

During her career at the "Financial Times", Rawsthorn became a member of the Design Council and a trustee of the Design Museum. In 2001, she was appointed director of the Design Museum. During her five years as director, the number of visitors to the museum rose by 40%, participation in the education program doubled, and the Design Museum website became the world's most visited design site. The museum also launched the Designer of the Year award, and mounted the Great Design Quest in collaboration with the BBC. [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article730407.ece Tom Dyckhoff, An exhibition of themselves, The Times ] ] She reportedly resigned in February 2006 over differences with Sir Terence Conran concerning the future direction of the institution. [ [http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewnews/?91998 creativematch: Alice Rawsthorn Resigns From The Design Museum ] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1721622,00.html Caroline Roux: Prize diversity | Weekend | Guardian Unlimited ] ]

Rawsthorn has since been active in the arts on a pro bono basis. She joined the national council of Arts Council England in 2007, having been its lead adviser on the visual arts for four years and chair of the Turning Point review of the contemporary visual arts. As well as being a trustee of the Whitechapel Gallery, she is chair of the building committee at a time when the gallery is doubling in size in a major capital project. [ [http://www.whitechapel.org/content.php?page_id=1839 Whitechapel Gallery announcement of capital project ] ] Rawsthorn has served on many arts juries including the Turner Prize for contemporary art, the Stirling Prize for architecture, the British Council's selection panel for the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Conservation Awards run by the Heritage Lottery Fund. She chaired the British Council's Design Advisory Group, and sat on its Visual Arts Group and Arts Advisory Committee. Rawsthorn was also a member of the British government's advisory panel on the BBC Charter Review. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/jun/15/bbc.pressandpublishing?gusrc=rss&feed=global BBC Charter Review appointments, The Guardian ] ]

Design champion

As well as her writing in the International Herald Tribune and New York Times, Rawsthorn often speaks on design and participates in debates and symposia at cultural institutions all over the world. In January 2008, she began Talking Design, a quarterly series of conversations with designers, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. She also participates in important political events including the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. She has contributed essays to several books on design, and has written a biography of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and a monograph on the work of the industrial designer Marc Newson.

References

Bibliography

*Alice Rawsthorn (1996) "Yves Saint Laurent", HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-255543-3
*Alice Rawsthorn, Richard Allan (1999) "Marc Newson", Booth-Clibborn Editions, ISBN 1-86154-062-0

External links

* [http://www.alicerawsthorn.com Alice Rawsthorn's official website]
* [http://www.iht.com International Herald Tribune website]
* [http://www.nytimes.com New York Times website]
* [http://www.whitechapel.org Whitechapel Gallery website]
* [http://www.artscouncil.org.uk Arts Council England website]