How Edinburgh College of Art has just damaged Scotland’s unique cultural identity

Graduates of Edinburgh College of Art craft courses have gone on to work on films and TV shows such as Downton Abbey (Picture: Rory Mulvey) | Focus Features

placeholder image — Graduates of Edinburgh College of Art craft courses have gone on to work on films and TV shows such as Downton Abbey (Picture: Rory Mulvey) | Focus Features

The decision to stop offering degrees in crafts like jewellery and textiles has provoked a huge backlash for good reasons, writes Irene Kernan, of Craft Scotland

“Sad, frustrating, and just wrong.” “A terrible decision.” “Appallingly short-sighted.” These are just some of the words shared online this week as the University of Edinburgh decided to close the remaining craft-based undergraduate degrees provided by Edinburgh College of Art (ECA).

Under the guise of streamlining and cost-cutting, three of the most popular ECA undergraduate degrees will no longer be offered to students keen to develop careers in jewellery and silversmithing, textiles, and performance costume.

More than 12,000 petition signatures later and after an international outcry that included Hollywood actors, designers, industry professionals and former graduates, the impact of this short-sighted decision is becoming clear.

AI-resistant careers

As young people look towards a sustainable, AI-resistant career, the closure of these courses denies Scotland's creative talent the skills and training required to build successful, future-proofed careers in craft and design.

To echo Joni Mitchell, we don’t know what we’ve got ’til it’s gone. Graduates have gone on to become lead costume designers for television shows from Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones, work as designers at fashion brands such as Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, and jewellers frequently go on to work with luxury powerhouses like Gucci, Kate Spade, and Michael Kors, or establish acclaimed independent studios like Catherine Zoraida whose work is worn by the Princess of Wales.

Can ECA really abandon the next generation of craft talent? These closures will have an impact on all of these sectors. Scotland’s hugely successful screen sector, for example, generates hundreds of millions of pounds in gross value added each year and has a £1 billion target by 2030/31.

Its future success will require a talented workforce at grassroots level, including local designers and makers, to be competitive on an international stage.

The only affordable option

Removing these undergraduate degrees will devastate educational opportunities for future generations of professional makers and designers and will particularly affect students from Scotland.

For many, studying in Scotland is the only affordable option but also the preferred option, given the quality and reputation of our craft programmes. This decision immediately reduces opportunities for young people in Scotland. Where do they go now?

One of the more uplifting outcomes since we started the petition calling for the reinstatement of these courses has been hearing the stories of graduates who reflected on the impact of their time at ECA. For those of us who haven’t studied at an art college, these posts provide an insight into what makes an undergraduate craft-based degree so special.

‘Pursuing my dream’

Graduate jeweller Cecilia Stamp said: “What I particularly remember about the silversmithing and jewellery course was the importance placed on drawing, experimentation and exploration. Ideas weren’t simply something you arrived at before making – drawing, sketchbooks, materials and the process of making were all part of working things out.

“We were encouraged to explore and develop our own way of thinking and making, alongside building a technical foundation. Those foundations still inform my work every day. The technical skills are obviously hugely important, but so is the ability to generate ideas, experiment, question things and develop a piece through drawing and making.”

Anna Robbins, an Emmy-nominated costume designer on Downton Abbey, said: “My love of historical costume and the art of costume design was born of my studies in Edinburgh. I have gone on to build my career as a costume designer in film and television over the last 20 years, and have been fortunate to have worked with some of the best directors, producers and production companies the UK has to offer.

“My degree was foundational to pursuing my dream to work in film but I have also celebrated seeing my fellow students and the ECA alumni from performance costume design go on to find success in a huge range of creative careers within and outwith costume.”

These are just a snapshot of the hundreds of responses we’ve received.

Knowledge that cannot be replaced

This unique combination of applying craft thinking to your work, developing much sought-after skills over four years and the freedom to innovate and experiment together as a group is invaluable.

Not to mention the industry connections built up over decades by the teaching staff on these programmes. This knowledge cannot be replaced. It cannot be improved by investing in more staff offices. It cannot be maintained without dedicated undergraduates keen to share their creative talents with the world.

As director of Craft Scotland, I get to meet and connect with makers living and working in Scotland but also, crucially, I see their work on an international stage and hear first-hand about how Scottish craft is celebrated globally. International visitors, collectors, curators and academics continually tell us that this country punches above its weight in terms of its contemporary craft and design culture.

Our art colleges are a vital part of this ecosystem. Reading the voices above, you can also see how studio-based learning, combining practical skills and imaginative ambition, is significantly different to academic word-based studies. As a result, the same measures and metrics cannot be applied.

A PowerPoint presentation in a lecture hall will always be more cost-effective than filling knowledge-rich studios with undergraduates. Yet this is surely what an art college is for.

Embrace craft thinking

This is the future opportunity for Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh. As demand for Scottish craft grows and the interest in Scotland as a destination for design talent increases, Edinburgh College of Art can build on its excellent reputation for nurturing creative talent.

Invest in people not tech, foster creativity not financial returns and embrace craft thinking. Reinstate the craft-based programmes.

These disciplines are integral to Scotland’s unique cultural identity, heritage and future.

Irene Kernan is the director of Craft Scotland, the national development agency for craft