Major arts conference set for Glasgow

November 25, 2013


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The
biennial ELIA conference is to be staged in Glasgow next year it was announced
today 25 November 2013.

The European League of Institutions of
the Arts (ELIA) is one of the most influential cultural organisations in Europe,
representing all major art colleges, universities and conservatoires. Every two
years around 500
teachers,
directors, artists and thinkers
from across the
continent gather for a conference which is hosted by leading academic
institution.  The 13th
biennial conference will take place from 13
– 15 November 2014
and will be co-hosted by the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland and The Glasgow School of Art, two of Europe’s independent higher
education arts institutions.

The programme of events, which will be staged in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, will
focus on
the relationship between the artist and the
city, and the dynamic inter-play between place, culture, creativity and the
artist.  It will explore the cultural, social and economic role that
creative individuals and institutions play in making and transforming a city,
regional or national identity.

“We are delighted that Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland
and The Glasgow School of Art are to co-host the 13th ELIA Biennial
Conference in the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Glasgow,”
says
Barbara
Revelli, ELIA Conference Manager. “Glasgow is renowned
internationally for the strength of its creative sector and for the way in
which it was transformed into a cultural centre in the 1990s. It is the ideal
place to explore the role of creative individuals in transforming a city.”

 For over
a decade I have been eager to bring the ELIA conference to Glasgow, says
Maggie
Kinloch, Vice Principal of the RCS. “It
is Europe’s leading organisation for a broad range of artistic teaching
institutions which cover a range of artistic disciplines.  I am thrilled that along with our colleagues
at Glasgow School of Art we have been successful in our efforts. Our peers from
all over Europe and beyond will spend four days in this wonderful creative city
of Glasgow and our staff and students will welcome them on behalf of our
institutions and the city.  What a
genuine honour that is for each and every one of us.”

“The
ELIA conference is an opportunity for specialists in creative higher education
to come together and share expertise and experience,”
adds Professor Linda
Drew, Deputy Director of the GSA.

“The
Glasgow School of Art and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have played a
seminal role in the rise of Glasgow as a creative centre, and our acclaimed
graduates have spread the word internationally about the quality of arts
education in the city.

There
could be no better location than Glasgow for a conference that looks at the
relationship between creative arts education and place-making.”

Bailie Liz Cameron, Executive
Member of Development and Regeneration Services at Glasgow City Council and
Vice Chair of the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau,
said:

“ I am delighted that such a prestigious
organisation as ELIA will hold their 2014 Conference in Glasgow and that both
The Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will be joint
hosts.

Glasgow
is rightly praised as a city that supports and nurtures the arts and cultural
expression. Indeed the City’s regeneration owes a great deal to our rich
cultural life.  

Both
the GSA and the Conservatoire have been crucial to the transformation of the
City. I look forward to ELIA’s presence in our city and to working with
GSA and RCS to ensure that delegates will enjoy the best of Glasgow’s cultural
life next November.”
For further information on ELIA visit:
http://www.elia-artschools.org
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Ends

 

For
further press information contact:
Lesley
Booth, GSA press office   

0779
941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk         

Katie
Bell, RCS press office        

0141
270 8387 /K.Bell@rcs.ac.uk