Having worked at West Dean College since 1996 Norbert Gutowski is leaving us at the end of the summer term 2021. His contribution to the College has been huge and he has been ever-present for a quarter of a century. He is the stuff of legends.

MA Conservation Studies student Jurjen writes about a small book from the collection in the Old Library and the remarkable details that lead him from a small local Latin school in Gouda, to Tsar Peter the Great, as well as to the well known art and book collection of the Beckford family.

De La Warr Pavilion, Wellcome Collection and West Dean College of Arts and Conservation are delighted to announce interdisciplinary designers RESOLVE Collective as the recipients of a major new commission, ‘Re-wilding: Coast, Countryside, City’. 

In conjunction with Pride month, West Dean College Librarian Teresa takes a look at six related texts selected from the Library collection.

MA Conservation Studies students recently undertook a virtual five week work placement with The Corning Museum of Glass, developing their understanding of glass conservation and what it means to be a conservator in a museum setting. For this blog post, they have applied that knowledge to examine objects in the West Dean Collection.

To mark the start of Pride 2021, we are sharing a brief excerpt from an unpublished text by West Dean College Founder Edward James, thought to date from the mid-1960s, focusing on his reflections on homosexuality.

In a new blog post, MA Creative Writing & Publishing Alumna Jane Freimiller shares extracts from her book, plus an insight into her writing process.

MA Collections Care and Conservation Management Alumna and Access and Participation Officer Alex has written about accessibility in the heritage sector, in particular in light of the challenges posed from the past year.

Graduate Diploma Conservation Studies student Sam has been working on the conservation treatment of a model clipper, brought into the furniture workshop back in February 2020 by a private client. Read the blog post to find out more about the project.