On 27 April 2022 we were delighted to welcome Trustees and supporters to the Art School for a celebration to thank Magnus von Wistinghausen, who left the Art School after 13 years in Summer 2021.
Magnus joined City & Guilds of London Art School in September 2008 and was Vice Principal (responsible for Resources and Development) from 2014 to 2018. From 2018- 2021 Magnus was the Director of City & Guilds Art School Property Trust, which manages the properties occupied by the Art School. Magnus’ remit as Director, City & Guilds Art School Property Trust, encompassed the ongoing planning and delivery of the Art School’s Masterplan, as well as other strategic fundraising activity.
Magnus was instrumental in the development and roll out of the Art School’s Masterplan since 2008, improving the campus and facilities as well as establishing additional support for the student bursary programme which now provides around 40% of undergraduate students with bursaries towards tuition fees, to ensure all those with the commitment and potential to be offered a place are able to take it up.
Magnus leaves the Art School with facilities fit for its talented students and staff to continue to produce incredible work and ready for an exciting future.
The whole Art School and the Board of Trustees thank Magnus for his dedication over many years and wish him well in all his future endeavours. We look forward to welcoming him back as our friend to Art School’s events for many years to come.
Below are just some of the major projects Magnus delivered and secured funding support for over 13 years:
PHASE 1 (2010-2014)
The renovation of the Art School row of six Grade 2 listed Georgian terrace buildings on Kennington Park Road, was completed in 2014 after five consecutive summers of work. Through Phase 1 we were able to refurbish and enlarge 35 studios; carry out a full upgrade of the Conservation Department; create the expanded Library, new seminar and meeting rooms, and install new lighting and centralised heating throughout.
NEW FOUNDATION SPACES IN THE OLD VAUXHALL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE (2012)
Another important development connected to Phase 1 took place in 2012 with the relocation of the Foundation Department to the Old Vauxhall Telephone Exchange, a disused 1930s building adjacent to the Art School. This large space of 6,000 square feet was turned into flexible, multipurpose studios with workshop facilities and a lecture space, transforming the quality of facilities for the Foundation Department.
PHASE 2 (2015-2017)
Following on seamlessly from Phase 1, an extremely generous pledge from the Hamish Parker Charitable Trust funded the creation of a new entrance for the Art School, and a striking covered atrium space between the Georgian terrace and the studio buildings.
BEYOND PHASE 2
Stone and Woodcarving Studios Renovation (2018-2019)
With the works completed in Summers of 2018 and 2019, this project equipped the Carving department with facilities that match the excellence and reputation of its then newly validated BA and MA courses, which are unique in this country and play a significant role in keeping alive specialist craft skills central to the preservation of important cultural heritage in the UK and internationally.
Books & Paper Conservation Studios (2020)
In Autumn 2020, the Art School launched its new undergraduate course in Books & Paper Conservation, after reaching an ambitious fundraising target to create and equip a suite of specialist Conservation Studios in its Georgian terrace. Named the Foyle Books & Paper Conservation Studios in recognition of the Foyle Foundation’s significant funding support for this and past studio and facilities development projects at the Art School. The project also encompassed the creation of new MA Fine Art Studios allowing relocation to another area onsite. The works were successfully completed, despite restrictions caused by the current pandemic.
PHASE 3
Planning permission was granted in 2018 for the final phase of the evolution of the 2008 Masterplan. In 2023 the Art School is reviewing the current needs of the Art School to ensure its plans for the site continue to reflect its ambitions for the future and the priorities of its 2022-27 Strategic Plan.