The Turner prizewinning artist Steve McQueen has spoken out about a series of planned cuts at his alumnus college, Goldsmiths (University of London), which could see more than 130 academics lose their jobs.
The college has produced a number of famous art alumni such as Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. “I hope Goldsmiths's management reconsiders the proposed staff reductions,” says McQueen, who represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2009.
“I can confirm that 132 academic roles are in scope as part of the extended consultation we are undertaking. This equates to 91.5 FTE (full-time equivalent) and equates to 17% (1 in 6) of academic staff,” says a Goldsmiths spokesperson. The planned cuts are part of the “Transformation” restructuring programme, which also aims to cut operating expenses by £20m annually, according to the South London Press.
The University and College Union (UCU) says in a statement, meanwhile, that “threatened job cuts at the university… could lead to the sacking of 35% of academic staff across 11 of Goldsmiths’s 18 departments”. Members of Goldsmiths UCU subsequently began an assessment boycott on 19 April and will not be grading students’ work or carrying out any other exam-related activities.
In a statement given to UCU, McQueen said: “The planned changes taking place at Goldsmiths arts and humanities departments worries me tremendously. It is fundamentally important that young people have the opportunity to experiment and to contribute to the fabric of our country’s creative industry in an environment which has adequate support.” He graduated from the college in 1993 with a BA in Fine Art.
The Goldsmiths spokesperson adds: “We are consulting on proposals with the union to deal with the unprecedented challenges that Goldsmiths and other universities are facing from a funding system that is no longer fit for purpose… We will continue to work hard to ensure that job losses are kept to a minimum and also to protect arts and humanities subjects in the best way we can.” Higher education institutions say they are struggling because of low tuition fees (£9,250 annually for UK students) and falling student numbers.
Goldsmiths was on “the edge of a precipice” in 2021 whenThe Art Newspaper reported that the college faced a financial deficit of £8m.
Later this month McQueen will unveil a new commission for the ground-floor gallery at Dia Beacon in New York state, composed solely of light, colour and sound (12 May-April 2025).