New home for Textile Conservation Centre
The Textile Conservation Centre Foundation (TCCF) and the University of Glasgow have agreed to found a new training centre for prospective textile conservators.
Housed in the university’s Robertson Building, the centre will be the first of its kind in Scotland and the only educational resource fully dedicated to textile conservation in the UK.
The announcement comes six months after the TCCF was forced to shut its Winchester premises when the University of Southampton cut funding for its courses.
The October 2009 closure sparked fears that the UK would lose its international standing as a centre of excellence for conservation. One commentator at the time called the move “a barbarous act of cultural vandalism”.
TCCF deputy chairman Peter Longman said: “There was such concern over the closure of the Textile Conservation Centre in Winchester that over the last 18 months we have been approached by several institutions anxious to work with us.”
“But the combination of Glasgow with its world class university and history of art department, and the unrivalled collections in and around the city proved an irresistible location.”
Conservators welcomed the development. Chief executive of the Institute of Conservation (ICON) Alison Richmond said: “We were very concerned about the provision of textiles conservation in the UK and about looking after our cultural heritage. It’s very very welcome news indeed. It’s been a long struggle.”
The new centre will inherit intellectual property and analytical equipment from the Winchester site. Students will also have access to textile collections held by Glasgow Museums, the National Museums of Scotland and the university’s own Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery.
The training centre will come under the University of Glasgow’s history of art department, named as the UK’s highest-rated research facility in 2008.
Courses are due to start in September this year with masters degrees in textile conservation and dress and textile history on offer.
Richmond said: “It’s great news for conservation in this country.”