The Textile Conservation Centre Foundation (TCCF) and the University of Glasgow are to set up a new teaching and research facility, with the first student intake in September 2010. The new centre will focus on object-based teaching and research encompassing conservation, the physical sciences and dress and textile history. This is an important development for conservation training following the closure of the Textile Conservation Centre (TCC) at Southampton University in October 2009.

Students undertaking the Masters programmes in Textile Conservation or in Dress and Textile History will have the opportunity to work with collections held by Glasgow Museums, the National Museums of Scotland and the University’s Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery. Staff and students will also benefit from the legacy of the former TCC, as the TCCF will pass on the library, intellectual property and analytical equipment built up over 30 years.

The University and the TCCF aim to establish an international research network for textile conservation, textile and dress history and technical art history. The Foundation is now offering a limited number of bursaries in the first years of the new textile conservation programme and a fundraising campaign is underway to support the new development, further bursaries and new research projects. Potential students who would like to receive updates on the development and course details should email Ailsa Boyd at the University of Glasgow.