- The Scholarship will be awarded to a Scottish Masters student on either the Communication Design or the Graphics, Illustration and Photography programme at The Glasgow School of Art
- The Scholarship will also include a paid internship at Penguin Random House UK
- A GSA alumnus, John Hamilton, who died earlier this year, was Art Director at Penguin for 22 years
Penguin is to create a new scholarship at The Glasgow School of Art, named in honour of its long-time Art Director John Hamilton, who died earlier this year, it was announced today, 31 May 2019.
Launching for the academic year 2019-2020, the John Hamilton Scholarship will offer £3,000 to one student per year, to support them for one year of study, as well as a paid internship in the art department at Penguin Random House UK. It is open to all Scottish postgraduate students studying for an MDes in Graphics/Illustration/ Photography or an MDes in Communication Design at The Glasgow School of Art.
Born in Glasgow, John Hamilton studied illustration at The Glasgow School of Art between 1982 and 1986, and his Degree Show consisted of a series of covers for imaginary books. After joining publisher William Heinemann shortly after graduating, he moved to Penguin in 1997 as Art Director for Penguin General Adult Publishing – later also becoming the Art Director for another of the Penguin publishing houses, Michael Joseph. During his twenty-two years with the company, he worked with many of Penguin’s bestselling authors, including Jamie Oliver, Zadie Smith, Nick Hornby and William Boyd.
Announcing the Scholarship Tom Weldon, CEO of Penguin Random House, said:
“We are so proud to be partnering with The Glasgow School of Art to launch the John Hamilton Scholarship. We met thirty years ago when he had just started his first job as a book jacket designer, having recently graduated from the school.”
“John was immensely talented and hugely admired within the design and publishing communities, and beyond. He was passionate about encouraging new talent and he was also proudly Scottish so it feels absolutely right that this scholarship should support new Scottish design talent.”
“I am delighted that Penguin have decided to honour John with a Scholarship to support new Scottish talent at the GSA,”says Brian Cairns, Senior Lecturer in Communication Design at the GSA. “I met John at the GSA over 30 years ago, and after graduating we stayed in touch and continued to collaborate on projects.”
“John was very proud to have been part of the GSA,” adds Brian Cairns. “He took great pleasure in discovering new talent, often in unexpected places, and giving those artists the opportunities to make new and innovative work that would not normally be commissioned in publishing.”
“John was proud of what he had achieved in shaping the direction of Penguin’s books but remained humble about his own work and his mentoring of younger designers at Penguin. I am sure he would havedelighted in the opportunity to help a student through thisscholarship in his name.”
The current cohort of students on communication design programmes are showing work in the Reid Building from Saturday at part of the GSA Degree Show.
“Our graduating students have been part of Glasgow’s creative community over the past few years,”she adds. “Degree Show marks both the culmination of their time with us and the next stage in their creative journey.
“While many choose to stay in Glasgow to launch their careers, extending the city’s global creative reach and reputation, many others move across the world as part of the GSA’s global creative network and reinforce our position as one of the world’s leading art, design and architecture institutions.”
The Glasgow School of Art Degree Show 2019 runs on the Garnethill Campus from 1 – 9 June 2019. MFA exhibition is on show in the Glue Factory. Entry to all exhibitions is free
For full details of Degree Show visit:
Ends
For further information on the Glasgow School of Art contact:
Lesley Booth
07799414474
For further information on Penguin Random House contact:
Jess Colman,
0207 840 7382,
Note for Editors
· The John Hamilton Scholarship will be awarded for academic excellence, with priority given to those who can demonstrate financial need.