The UK government is showing full support to Glasgow School of Art, after its celebrated Mackintosh-designed building went up in flames last May, destroying many of the students’ artworks.
The Herald Scotland reports that the UK’s newly-appointed Culture Secretary Sajid Javid praised the resilience of GSA’s staff and students during a visit to Glasgow last week, calling it “a real inspiration.”
“The damage done by the fire to the magnificent Mackintosh Building is terrible,” he said, “but what really hits is the loss of students’ work and the many hours of creativity and dedication they poured into it.”
Chancellor George Osborne announced earlier this month that £5 million would be allocated towards to cost of the school’s planned Graduate and Research Centre.
This is in addition to the £5 million already pledged by the government last month to GSA’s Mackintosh Appeal, a campaign aiming to raise £20 million to restore the building, which is supported by A-listers including Brad Pitt and Dr Who actor Peter Capaldi.
GSA was designed by Rennie Mackintosh and completed in 1909. It is considered one of the UK’s best art schools. In recent years, GSA produced a slew of Turner Prize winners, including Martin Boyce in 2011, Richard Wright in 2009, and Simon Starling in 2009.