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Hamid van Koten

Programme Director - Design History, Theory & Practice

 
BIOGRAPHY
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TEACHING

 
BIOGRAPHY

Born in Rotterdam Hamid van Koten came to Britain to study Middle and Far Eastern philosophy. He also acquired practical skills as a furniture maker, and in 1993 he graduated from Glasgow School of Art in Product Design. Since then he has been the director of the VK&C design consultancy and has worked on a wide range of projects, including industrial, exhibition, interior, and architectural design as well as public arts commissions. He has exhibited in the UK and Internationally and has won a number of awards. His work has been much published. Hamid has always maintained links with education and has taught at Glasgow School of Art and Duncan of Jordanstone, where he now lectures in the History, Theory and Practice of Media and Design. Recently he was awarded an AHRC grant for hosting an international conference, investigating the role of theory in creative practice, the proceeds of which are to be published. Hamid is a member of the conference committee of the Scottish Word and Image Group; and the steering group of the Mary Ann Baxter Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research. He also was a specialist advisor for the Scottish Arts Council, involved with assessing start up and creative development grants. He currently sits on the curatorial panel for the Wych Elm Exhibition, to be held in 2008 at the royal botanical gardens in Edinburgh. In 2007 Hamid was invited to join the board of directors of the Bodhi Eco-Project: a charity which is actively involved in the building of an eco-village, designed as a human scale model for low impact, incorporating eco-friendly buildings, renewable energy technology, and land stewardship practices.