RUSKIN GLASS CENTRE AND THE GLASSHOUSE COLLEGE

The siting of the event at The Ruskin Glass Centre was deliberate and timely. We wanted a venue that was large enough for us to be able to create a substantial experience for the visitors but also find links into local history and culture. So the old Royal Doulton glassworks was an ideal site on these terms. But the principles and methods used at Glasshouse College also resonate very well with the ambitions of the programme funded by LSC Black Country and ESF called 'New Media Learning With Industry'.

The Glasshouse College provides innovative and experiential education for young people with special learning needs and is being developed out of the inspiration of Rudolf Steiner, William Morris and John Ruskin. The notion of students working alongside a "master" in the acquisition of skills and knowledge is a Ruskin principle that we emulated in the Mediaonics Fantasia events where students work alongside professionals in the creation and delivery of products.

At Glasshouse College each student has an individual programme enabling them to make the most of their potential. We are likewise planning to use Individual Learning Plans with the student artists involved in the event, and helping them to create online CVs or ePortfolios which the Industrial Partners in the programme will verify or otherwise accredit.

The Ruskin Glass Centre is fast becoming a major venue on the tourist trail with a healthy mix of traditional and new crafts and media producers sharing the site with Glasshouse College, the Studio Theatre, Gallery, restaurant and wholefood shop. The space where the Mediaonics Fantasia event will take place was recently the main exhibition site for the International Festival of Glass.

More about the Glasshouse College and Ruskin Glass Centre is on the website at www.ruskin-mill.org.uk