Help Save Undergraduate Craft Courses at ECA: Write to your MSP

Over the past two weeks individuals and organisations across the world have raised their voices against the proposed closure of the undergraduate Jewellery and Silversmithing, Textiles and Performance Costume courses at Edinburgh College of Art.

These courses represent the remainder of its undergraduate degrees in craft disciplines and teach vital making skills, alongside nurturing creative imagination and design expertise. They form a crucial part of Scotland’s craft education ecosystem and once lost, will have consequences for Scottish culture that will be almost impossible to mitigate.

As young people look towards a sustainable A.I. resistant career, the closure of these courses denies Scotland's creative talent the skills and training required to build successful futureproofed careers in craft and design.

Campaign Update

Since we published our open letter co-signed and supported by colleagues across the sector, the campaign has gathered significant momentum:

• Our petition has been signed by more than 14,000 people to date and the list of supporters continues to grow. You can see from the comments how strong the support is from the sector and public.
• A parliamentary motion has been raised in the Scottish Parliament by Dr Q Manivannan MSP, Party Spokesperson for Culture, Scottish Green Party, which has attracted cross-party support.
• There have also been articles on the course closures in The Scotsman, The Herald and The National and broadcast on BBC Scotland which are helping to attract wider public attention to this issue.
• ECA alumni have been adding their voices to the call, with an open letter published by Performance Costume graduates and through sharing powerful personal stories on social media using the hashtag #ECAMatters.
   

Next Steps: We Need Your Help to Move the Campaign Forward

We are seeking further support to help build pressure on the University and Edinburgh College of Art to reverse this decision.

If you live in Scotland, please write to your local MSP, asking them to support the parliamentary motion. Sharing your perspective on why these closures should be reversed and highlighting Dr Q Manivannan MSP’s motion (reference S7M-01386) will help MSPs to take note.

>>> Use the platform Write to Them to easily find and contact your local representative

For our supporters outside Scotland, sharing this campaign and the petition is hugely valuable. We are continuing to gather statements of support from across the world which help to highlight the reputation of these courses and value of craft education.

>>> Sign and share the petition

>>> Read our open letter to learn more about the closures and their impact