Renowned artists who studied at Goldsmiths, University of London, including Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Sarah Lucas, Yinka Shonibare, and Michael Craig-Martin, are generously donating their works to raise money for a new art gallery at the university. Additionally, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Julian Opie, and Steve McQueen are contributing pieces to the upcoming Christie’s auction. The auction, featuring pieces such as Hirst’s spot painting and swirl painting, Lucas’ bronze, and Gormley’s cast iron standing man, is expected to raise a significant portion of the £2.8m needed to construct the new public contemporary art space in south London. The gallery will be located in the shell of the Laurie Grove Baths, once a public bathhouse built in the late 1800s, and previously used as a swimming pool and dance floor until its closure in 1991. The winning design by the London-based architecture collective, Assemble, will incorporate the giant black steel tanks that once held the water supply for the baths.
Goldsmiths has a rich artistic legacy, boasting 30 Turner Prize nominees and seven winners among its alumni. The Young British Artists movement of the 1980s emerged from the art school when Hirst presented his exhibition "Freeze" as a second-year student. Craig-Martin was a teacher to many of the young artists, including Hirst. Gormley views the gallery as a valuable resource for both the university and London, stating that Goldsmiths remains one of the most intellectually stimulating and challenging universities in Britain, and that its art department contributes to the evolution of visual culture.
