Writing
World Homeless Day: Two inspirational charities
Ahead of tomorrow’s World Homeless Day, I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate two charities who are providing vital support to people impacted by...
The true value of creative degrees
The gulf between what creative graduates contribute to our economy and what they are perceived to contribute is a damaging misconception that undermines not...
Institute of Positive Fashion
I wanted to take this opportunity to share a new resource from the Institute of Positive Fashion. Set up in September 2019 by the British Fashion Council, the...
Sustainable Enterprise Festival
This week sees the final few days of the Sustainable Enterprise Festival, a great online event curated by my colleagues Siân Prime and Adrian De La Court in...
A green recovery for Goldsmiths and Lewisham
This week was an important one for our work at Goldsmiths to tackle the climate emergency, as we published our action plan to get Goldsmiths to carbon...
Goldsmiths degree shows go online
Goldsmiths Theatre and Performance TAP IN 20 festival website I’ve been so impressed by the ways Goldsmiths students have responded to the challenges brought...
Welcoming refugees in hostile times
Last week I was delighted to welcome guests to the first meeting of Localities of Welcoming, a new project connecting people across Europe who are involved in...
Reasons for hope on World Environment Day
Last month London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced plans to close main streets in central London to cars and vans to make cycling and walking safer in the capital,...
A local community response to Covid-19
I’ve been moved to see how people are coming together to support others during this pandemic. There are some really important initiatives happening in...
Supporting key workers
Today, 1 May, is International Workers Day. As many of us will be, I’m thinking about the thousands of people across the country who...
Culture at home
I’ve been struck by the creative ways people and organisations are bringing us art and culture in the ongoing lockdown. Goldsmiths’ local education partners...
The Goldsmiths community – thank you
These really are unprecedented times for us all, personally, professionally and for our community. As Goldsmiths Professor Tim Crook highlighted in a recent...
Women in universities
Today, 8th March, is International Women’s Day. It’s a date that has always stood out for me in the calendar as a chance not just to celebrate the...
Lewisham: Borough of Culture
I was delighted to hear earlier this month that Goldsmiths’ home borough of Lewisham will be London Borough of Culture for 2021. This winning bid for Lewisham...
Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery
Last week I visited Bridget Riley’s exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre. This is the largest exhibition of Riley’s work to date, a...
Revisiting the creative industries
Last week I welcomed colleagues and guests to an event on the creative industries organised by Goldsmiths’ Institute for Creative and Cultural...
Spreading CreActivity: with Venice Art Factory and UNHCR
On Friday 22 November I chaired a panel to mark the closing of Rothko in Lampedusa, an inspiring exhibition of artwork by refugees. The Rothko in Lampedusa...
UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women: Global Grantee Convention
Earlier this month I was delighted to speak at the first Global Grantee Convention organised by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. The...
The Goldsmiths Prize: Interview with Tim Parnell
Dr Tim Parnell is Senior Lecturer in English at Goldsmiths University of London and Literary Director of the Goldsmiths Prize. In this interview ahead of the...
Launch of the Battle of Lewisham mural
In today’s increasingly polarised society, it’s good to be reminded how a community can come together to challenge those who seek to undermine its values. I...
Breaking Ground
London College of Fashion, UAL alongside its new neighbours in East Bank officially ‘broke ground’ this morning. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who...
World Refugee Day: Reflections from Za’atari
As the project evolved I became increasingly fascinated with where the tent had come from, unanswerable questions I received from children, took me to Za’atari – where the tent had once been home to a fleeing Syrian family. I learned fast, that the first person you meet in camp is yourself, your beliefs, your defences, ultimately, whether you like it or not, your purpose in life.
Fashion Revolution Week: An Interview with Orsola de Castro of Fashion Revolution
“On a personal level, we at Fashion Revolution advocate very much for the caring of clothes as well as the respecting the people that made them, the two things go hand in hand. We’ve got a bit of a catchphrase this year, which is ‘it’s just as important to ask who made my clothes as it is to remember that loved clothes last’.”
Back To Black
A powerful colour with many cultural associations, dressing all in black is often a sophisticated, elegant and restrained fashion statement, yet even so black’s historical associations with evil, death, eroticism, piety and puritanism remain.