Just returned from Japan - I had the great honour of being invited by Tokyo Zokei University to give a Paper, on October 26th, as part of their 50th Anniversary Celebrations. Tokyo Zokei University was founded on Bauhaus principles and I was asked to speak about the history of craft and design education in the UK and what I thought the future might be. Two of my fellow speakers, Professor Ulrich Schendzielorz and Professor Matthias Held, were from Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany, also founded on Bauhaus principles. The third was the eminent scholar, Professor Emeritus Shutaro Mukai, Professor of Design Science, Morphology, History of Modern Design, Musashino Art University, who had studied at Ulm and was a close friend of Josef and Annie Albers. The day was facilitated by the cultural commentator Professor Michio Hayashi, Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at Sophia University.
At a time when art education in the UK is under so much pressure, it was a wonderful counterpoint to be asked to take a leading part in such an extraordinary event with many interesting and penetrating questions from the audience.
