Item NMC/1739H - Exhibition catalogue for the Mackintosh Interpreted exhibition

The Centre for Advanced Textiles (CAT) at Glasgow School of Art was established in 2000 with a Research and Development Grant of £661,000 from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. The remit of the centre is to: i) provide cutting edge facilities for textile design education; ii) investigate the aesthetic, technical and commercial opportunities presented by digital textile printing, and; and iii) operate a commercial service bureau for industry and individuals.

Vicky attained her B Des (Hons) in Printed Textiles from Duncan of Jordanstone College in 1995 and her MA Textile Design from Winchester School of Art in 1996. Her Masters level research focused on the use of reflective printing pigments in disperse dyes for sportswear. Initially a Printed Textiles Lecturer on the BA (Hons) European Textile Design course at Bradford college, Vicky became the Course Tutor overseeing all aspects of the course from design to foreign languages. In 1999, through maintaining cose links with industry whilst at Bradford College, Vicky went on to establish one of the UK’s first digital fabric printing services with RA Smart Ltd.The Fabric Printing Bureau operated under Vicky’s Directorship until 2002 serving a vast array of clients in design and design related industries, from haute couture to exhibition design. In May 2002, Vicky joined the Centre for Advanced Textiles as Bureau Co-ordinator to consolidate her expertise with that of Alan Shaw and the CAT team, in promoting the digital fabric printing technology as a commercial, educational and research facility.

Alan Shaw was born in Ballymoney, N.Ireland and studied textiles at Glasgow School of Art. During his MDes, Alan spent five months working at Coats Viyella where he worked on Stork TCP printers and the initial trialling of the Stork Amethyst production printer. The resulting new knowledge was used to showcase his collection of interior prints. On completion of his MDes Alan took up a post at GSA, compiling technical research for the successful SHEFC funding application. This resulted in the Centre for Advanced Textiles (CAT) being established in 2000.Alan’s role involves collaborative research, textile consultancy and management of the Centre’s commercial activity. His research interests include investigating the role of facilitating designers/makers to integrate digital technology into their practice, helping to address perceptions of the technology and transferring acquired knowledge and skills.Before working at CAT, Alan spent four years with Glasgow textile printing firm Timorous Beasties overseeing print production and finishing. He has lectured at various Scottish colleges and continues to design and produce textiles on a freelance basis.

J.R. Campbell completed a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design in 1994 and a Master of Fine Arts in Textile Arts and Costume Design from the University of California in 1996. He then taught, textiles, computer-aided fashion design and colour theory in San Francisco before being appointed assistant professor in the Department of Textiles and Clothing at Iowa State University in 1998. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor there in 2004. In July 2005, he moved to Scotland to become Research Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, where he directed research for the Centre, located in the School of Design. While in Glasgow, Campbell completed a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert.) course in Supervising Postgraduate Research Degrees for Professionals in Art, Design and Communication from the Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design at University of the Arts London, which was granted in November 2006. He has been a visiting scholar and conducted workshops at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in China and the Auckland University of Technology's Textile Design Laboratory in New Zealand.Campbell started his position as Professor and Director of The Fashion School at Kent State University Ohio in July 2009.