Katy West first joined the Glasgow School of Art staff in 2008 and is currently First Year Experience Coordinator and Cross School Course Leader. She is Visiting Lecturer in Design History Theory, lecturing on subjects relating to curating, craft and design, and supervising dissertation and thesis writing. She has previously lectured within Product Design.
She has experience as an Independent Curator specialising in craft and design subjects. Research outputs include exhibitions, conferences, commissioning projects, live curated projects outwith the gallery space, touring programmes, organising local and overseas residencies, research by design.
Concurrent to her teaching and curatorial practice Katy West has specialist studio expertise as a designer for ceramics, working under Katy West Design, in collaboration with ceramic production facilities to produce her own work that researches and references ceramic history.
Her training includes a Batchelor of Arts from Glasgow School of Art (1999) in ceramic design and a Masters of Arts from the Royal College of Art, in applied arts (2007). She maintains her disciplinary knowledge of material practice through design by research specialising in 19th and 20th century British ceramic design and the rise of the studio movement. Her post graduate study considered the ‘sublation of Avant Garde theory into design practice’ and has since explored the significance of design for exhibition, curatorial approaches to craft and design practice, the role of critical design.
Her research is interdisciplinary, across design, fine art, history and technology, with particular reference to vernacular craft traditions and contemporary culture. Overall she takes a material culture approach to exploring the fields of craft and design, considering the cultural status of craft workers, designers and makers, in the fields of material production, and the political, sociological and cultural significance of object, material, function and value.
Current research and academic collaborations are within the field of material culture, design history, ceramic design, and co-design. Recent research includes a co-design project involving textile production with Indian and Scottish students, a collaboration with Design Informatics, Edinburgh College of Art, a commission for Collective Gallery Edinburgh and Panel Glasgow, and the Shanks Archive, Renfrewshire.
Professional practice is maintained through working with organisations such as Craft Scotland - curating the Craft Scotland Conference (2014) held at Dundee University, mentoring recent graduates through schemes with the Crafts Council (UK), Glasgow City Council & Dundee City Council. Katy West is Craft Advisor to the Inches Carr Trust and Industry Associate in Craft for the Cultural Enterprise Office.
