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Goldsmiths College (founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute) is a college of the University of London specialising in teaching of and research into the creative arts.

Location

The college is situated in New Cross, a highly populated area of south-east London. The college's main building was originally created in 1843 by the architect John Shaw Jr (1803-1870). In addition to this the college also occupies many more modern buildings, including the Ben Pimlott Building designed by Will Alsop and completed in 2005.

History

In 1891 the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths set up a Technical and Recreative Institute, using the old Royal Naval School in New Cross as its base. In 1904 the Institute was acquired by the University of London and re-established as Goldsmiths College. Shortly after the acquisition, in 1907, the college added a new arts bulding, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, to the back of the main building. During the Second World War it was decided to evacuate the students and faculty of the college to the University of Nottingham (then University College, Nottingham), a decision that proved wise when the main building was struck by an incendiary bomb and gutted in 1940 (the building was finally repaired in 1947). During the 1960s the college experienced a rapid expansion in student numbers and the main building was expanded and the Lockwood Building, Whitehead Building, Education Building, Warmington Tower and St James's Hall were all built during this period in order to accommodate the new students. In 1988 Goldsmiths became a full college of the University of London and in 1990 received it Royal Charter.

Research and Teaching

Goldsmiths specialises in courses and research relating to creativity and culture, and has a reputation for producing visual artists, particularly those collectively known as YBA. This reputation was largely established by the influence of Michael Craig-Martin, Jon Thompson and Nick De Ville as teaching staff.

Organisation

Professor Geoffrey Crossick was appointed Warden of the college in 2005 following the death of Ben Pimlott, who had become Warden in 1998. Alumni are members of the Goldsmiths Society.

Student life

The college provides, amongst other things, catering facilities, a gym, a chaplaincy, a medical centre, a nursery and a gym for student use. Additionally, the Goldsmiths Students' Union runs two bars, organises numerous entertainment events, provides student representation and runs both a student magazine (Smiths) and a radio station (wired). All Goldsmiths students are also able to make use of the facilities of the University of London Union.

The university also owns 7 halls of residence which offer accomodation for students:

  • Batavia Mews
  • Chesterman House
  • Dean House
  • Loring Hall
  • Surrey House
  • Surrey House Annexe
  • Raymont Hall

Sports, clubs, and traditions

Sports teams and societies are organised by the Goldsmiths Students' Union. The union runs 18 sports clubs, 11 of which compete in either University of London Union or BUSA leagues. In addition the union runs 35 societies, ranging from political societies (such as the Liberal Democrats society or the Respect society) and identity-oriented societies (for instance the Sikh society and the LGBT society) to interest societies (the Music Society, the Photography Society) and the more eclectic societies (the Made in Goldsmiths Society and the Somewhere Else Society).

Alumni

See Also

External links

Art schools in London | Art schools in the United Kingdom | Goldsmiths College | Lewisham | University of London | Educational institutions established in 1891

Goldsmiths College | ゴールドスミス・カレッジ

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Goldsmiths College".

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