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| Emma Defty, winner of the 2022 Newbery Medal |
- Product Design graduate, Emma Defty, receives the GSA’s highest undergraduate accolade for work asking us to address the question: is what we are doing today going to cost the earth?
- Latest cohort of creative talent graduates from The Glasgow School of Art at in person ceremonies
- Honorary Doctorates conferred on Sandy Kennedy (Director of ScotFIN at IGS) and Alex Paterson (Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland)
23year old Emma Defty from Berlin, a Product Design graduate from The Glasgow School of Art’s Innovation School, is the recipient of the 2022 Newbery Medal it was announced today, Friday 8 July. Named after the GSA’s celebrated director Francis ‘Fra’ Newbery, the award is presented each year to the top student graduating from an undergraduate programme at The Glasgow School of Art. The medal was presented at the 2022 in-person Graduation, which saw over 500 students awarded their degrees. Honorary Doctorates were conferred on Sandy Kennedy and Alex Paterson.
“Today marks an important moment for our graduates as they move forward into the next stage of their creative development, taking the skills they have learned during their time here at The Glasgow School of Art and applying them in a wide range of professional practice,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art.
“Art schools are powerhouses of creativity and innovation that have a vital role to play in addressing the key issues facing today’s society. Our graduates engage across major societal themes and issues, question the world around them and challenge the way we see things. ” she adds “Today’s new cohort of artists, designers and architects now join an international creative network of more than 18,000 GSA alumni who are making tangible differences to the world in which we live.”
Emma Defty was one of over 100 graduating students to have addressed sustainability and the climate crisis emergency in their Degree Show this year. Her work takes as its starting point a world where individualism and a human-centred focus are leading to an increasingly disconnected society and to unprecedented destruction of the natural environment, threatening the very existence of the planet. Through a series of speculative designs, which include Borrowed Time – a clock that measures time in terms of the extent to which we are using up the earth’s resources, and Unintended Consequences – a card game that could be used as a teaching tool to introduce the concepts of symbiosis, interdependence, negotiation and trade-offs in sustainability, she invites us to address the question are our actions today doing today going to cost the earth?
Images: Emma Defty’s Borrowed Time and Unintended Consequences
“Emma’s work demonstrates the potential for Product Design to rise above the creation of consumer goods for a world already challenged by consumption driven climate change, moving beyond the designing of goods and services, novel experiences and interactions, to explore the relationship between people, time and the Earth’s resources, Emma asks a key question for graduates and young people: will today cost us tomorrow?” adds Professor Gordon Hush, Head of Innovation School at the GSA.
“Here design-led innovation utilises creativity as a form of critique, extending the definition of Product Design, offering it a political as well as a material dimension, creating artefacts that transcend the traditional interplay of form and function to provoke and to question. Emma’s work epitomises a design practice that asks us to consider not only the economic value or aesthetic merit of an artefact, but its social and ecological consequence – for us, and for those who will come after us.”
Chairman’s Medals were presented to the top student in each of the GSA’s five schools – Karlis Kukainis, Stage 5 Architecture; Yuqing Wang, Interaction Design; Amandine Fong, Product Design; Louis Syed-Anderson, Fine Art Photography and Maximiliano Wardle, Immersive System Design – with 35 further prizes recognising student endeavour also awarded.
Two honorary doctorates were conferred at 2022 graduation. Sandy Kennedy was awarded a Doctor of Letters in recognition of his significant contribution to Scotland’s economic growth, business leadership and to the important role of Scotland’s universities and their graduates in entrepreneurship, enterprise and innovation. A former Chief Executive of the Saltire and of Entrepreneurial Scotland, he became the Director of ScotFIN at IGS in 2021. Alex Paterson, former CEO of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and currently Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland, was awarded a Doctor of Letters for his significant contribution to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, The Glasgow School of Art in the Highlands and Islands and his leadership in ensuring access to and promotion and protection of Scotland’s historic environment.
“We are delighted to recognise the contribution of Sandy Kennedy and Alex Paterson today,” says Professor Macbeth.
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| GSA Chair, Ann Priest, Dr Sandy Kennedy, GSA Director, Professor Penny Macbeth |
“Through his many roles, including Chief Executive of the Saltire Foundation and Entrepreneurial Scotland, Sandy Kennedy has worked tirelessly to inspire, develop and connect current and future high impact entrepreneurial leaders worldwide and to ignite economic growth in Scotland.
“In particular he has raised awareness of the important role that Scotland’s universities and their graduates play in economic development, and of the value of academic research.”
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| GSA Director, Professor Penny Macbeth, Dr Alex Paterson, GSA Deputy Director (innovation) Professor Irene McAra-McWilliam |
“At Highlands and Islands Enterprise Alex Paterson led the organisation in its commitment to creating a successful, sustainable region, including collaborating with The Glasgow School of Art on the Creative Futures Partnership and supporting the development of our Highlands and Islands campus at Altyre.
“Since joining Historic Environment Scotland he has spearheaded its commitment to widening access, to traditional skills development and to harnessing the power of digital technology in promoting and preserving Scotland’s historic environment.”
For full list of award-winners see Notes for Editors
See work by the 2022 cohort of graduates on the GSA Degree Show digital showcase
Ends
Further information contact
Lesley Booth
07799414474
Notes for Editors
The Honorary Doctorates were conferred on Sandy Kennedy and Alex Paterson by The University of Glasgow, which awards degrees on behalf of The Glasgow School of Art.
AWARDS AND PRIZES 2022
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prize |
winners |
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Newbery Medal |
Emma Defty, Product Design |
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Chairman’s Medals: Mackintosh School of Architecture School of Design Innovation School School of Fine Art School of Simulation and Visualisation |
Karlis Kukainis, Stage 5 Architecture Yuqing Wang, Interaction Design Amandine Fong, Product Design Louis Syed-Anderson, Fine Art Photography Maximiliano Wardle, Immersive Systems Design |
Open Prizes
|
prize |
winners |
|
Landscape Drawing Prize |
Mollie Forsythe, Interior Design Finn Croy, Fine Art Photography Joe Sampey, Stage 5 Architecture |
|
GSA Prize for Sustainability |
Kitty Glover, Sculpture and Environmental Art Amandine Fong, Product Design |
|
Bram Stoker Award |
Amy Strzoda, Sculpture and Environmental Art |
|
Dissertation Prize |
Millie Collins, Textile Design
Joseph Strang, Sculpture and Environmental Art |
|
Essay Prize |
Mourad Kourbaj, Communication Design Kaya Erdnic, Fine Art Photography |
Mackintosh School of Architecture
|
prize |
winners |
|
MSA Stage 4 BArch(Hons) Portfolio Prize |
Rachel Crooks. Stage 4 Architecture |
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MSA Stage 4 Diploma Portfolio Prize |
Reece Oliver, Stage 4 Architecure |
|
MSA Research Project Prize |
Lily Whitehouse, stage 4 Architecture |
School of Design – Silversmithing and Jewellery
|
prize |
winners |
|
Richard H Arroll Memorial Prize |
Caitlin Murphy, Silversmithing and Jewellery |
|
Incorporation of Hammermen |
Kristina Merchant, Silversmithing and Jewellery Lucy Petts, Silversmithing and Jewellery |
|
Incorporation of Bonnetmakers |
Abbey Campbell, Textile Design |
School of Design – Fashion and Textiles
|
prize |
winners |
|
Incorporation of Tailors |
Lisa Manastireanu, Fashion Design |
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Bill Naysmith Innovation Award |
Roseanna Dyke, Textile Design |
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The Begg X Co Degree Show Preparation Bursary |
Elise Prentice, Textile Design Lucie Peslova, Textile Design Holley Sweet. Textile Design Bethany Pringle, Textile Design |
School of Design – Interior Design
|
prize |
winners |
|
James Brough Memorial Prize |
Emilia Kenyon, Interior Design |
|
Stakis Prize |
Mollie Forsyth, Interior Design Hanya Kamel, Interior Design |
School of Design – Communication Design
|
prize |
winners |
|
The Kerry Aylin Prize for Distinction in Print |
Luca Hallam, Communication Design |
Innovation School
|
prize |
winners |
|
Innovation Design Prize |
Maria Papanastasatou, Product Design |
|
Innovation Design Research Prize |
Amandine Fong, Product Design |
|
Innovation Design Collaborative Practice Prize |
Gabriella Morris, Product Design |
|
Ecological Innovation |
Hannah Roche, Product Design |
School of Fine Art
|
prize |
winners |
|
Steven Campbell Hunt Medal |
Lily Krempel, Sculpture and Environmental Art |
|
Critical Theory Prize |
Chiara Van Den Hoven, Sculpture and Environmental Art |
School of Fine Art – Painting
|
prize |
winners |
|
The James Nicol McBroom Memorial Prize for Fine Art |
Chloe Beddow, Painting and Printmaking |
|
Emmy Sachs Prize |
Fleur Connor, Painting and Printmaking |
|
Armour Prize |
Fraser Whiting, Painting and Printmaking |
|
Armour Travel Prize |
Ruby Kuye-Kline, Painting and Printmaking |
School of Fine Art – Printmaking
|
prize |
winners |
|
Glasgow Print Studio |
Nkem Okwechime, Painting and Printmaking Scott Jaffrey, Painting and Printmaking |
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Euan Stewart Memorial Prize |
Alexandra Beteeva, Painting and Printmaking |
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Jon McFarland Prize for Printmaking |
Amanda Seibaek, Painting and Printmaking |
School of Fine Art – Sculpture
|
prize |
winners |
|
Benno Schotz Prize |
Ciaran Cannon, Sculpture and Environmental Art |
School of Fine Art – Fine Art Photography
|
prize |
winners |
|
The Alice Duncan Prize |
Joanna Stawnicka, Fine Art Photography |
School of Fine Art – Environmental Art
|
prize |
winners |
|
The David Harding Public Art Project Prize |
Chiara van den Hoven for her Art in Hospital project, Sculpture and Environmental Art |