Gary Clough Appointed Academic Lead for RCA Graduate Diploma Art & Design

'The Graduate Diploma is a uniquely positioned Programme that will enable students with non-traditional UK art and design prior learning backgrounds to engage with the celebrated cross-disciplinary approach of the Royal College of Art,' Clough explained.  

At the RCA Gary will be responsible for the implementation, organisation, management, development and delivery of Graduate Diploma Art & Design. 

Based at the College's White City campus , this 30-week, full-time Programme is designed to prepare students for further postgraduate study in art and design. It is interdisciplinary, mirroring the experience of Master's study at the RCA, with students choosing to specialise in one of five areas: Communication; Fine Art; Humanities; Fashion & Textiles; and Product, Interiors & Spatial Design. 

Clough explained further, 'Students from across the globe will be introduced to a breadth of study skills, research methodologies and specialist approaches to their practice in order to develop the essential skills and portfolio with which to engage fully at postgraduate level study, or future employment in the creative industries. I believe that students from the Graduate Diploma will form an important ambassadorial role in regard to the broader internationalisation of our community of the future.'

The first cohort of over 50 students will begin the Programme in July 2018, with a second cohort in January 2019. The first group come from 19 nationalities with a broad range of educational backgrounds, including prior degrees in art and design subjects, as well as other disciplines and professional experience in a range of fields. 

Professor Juan Cruz, Dean of Arts & Humanities, commented: 'We are very pleased to welcome Gary as academic lead for this dynamic new Programme at the RCA. His experience in international higher education makes him the ideal person to lead this transnational Programme, which will equip students with the skills, knowledge and approaches to make the most of the study options available to them, and the possible career paths they might follow beyond graduation.'

Gary is joining the RCA from the University for the Creative Arts where he was the Head of International Pathways from 2012. In this role he worked with education systems outside the UK, including China, India, Korea, Taiwan and Japan, which has shaped his commitment to inclusivity, cultural diversity and internationalised pedagogic models. 

Gary's artistic practice is rooted in the traditions and cross-disciplinary nature of sculpture and drawing. Having trained initially as a stone carver at Hereford Cathedral, Clough's practice employs an interdisciplinary approach spanning drawing, print, sculpture, animation and site-specific installation. He studied Fine Art Sculpture at the University for the Creative Arts (1989) and Sculpture at the RCA (1993). 

Clough exhibits across the UK, Europe, US and China, from Tate St Ives to The Central Academy of Fine Arts Beijing. He was Henry Moore Foundation Sculpture Fellow at Falmouth College of Arts (1994–6) and awarded a bursary from the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1996. His recent solo exhibition, Trace Engines, presented new drawings and prints at AIP Gallery Redtory Art Zone, Guangzhou (2015–16), Rochester Art Gallery, Kent (2016–17) and The Brewery Tap, Folkestone Triennial (2017).