Goldsmiths: But is it art?

Goldsmiths College is to be immortalised in a two-part BBC Four series that starts tonight. "Goldsmiths: But is it art?" goes out at 9pm and the promotional blurb says:

Goldsmiths is renowned for producing a generation of well-known contemporary artists, including the likes of Damien Hirst and five other Turner prize winners. But what is behind its unrivalled reputation for producing the art stars of the future?

The first in a two-part documentary follows a group of artists from Goldsmiths University as they struggle to make art and a name for themselves during the run up to their final masters show, where dealers and collectors jostle to sign up the latest art sensation.

The artists are all desperate to make the kind of work that will propel them to centre stage in the art world, but only a chosen few will succeed. The film explores the culture of contemporary art through the ambitions, influences and attitudes of the next generation of young British artists.

On the basis that it's BBC Four, we can expect something more edifying than the the area's last reality TV adventure, Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum, even if artists sometimes lapse in to self-parody.

Goldsmiths is Brockley's best hope of attracting more small businesses to the area. Clusters form around centres of academic excellence and Deptford owes much of its recent success to the college, which has established a reputation for converting creative excellence in to business success.

Goldsmiths' Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE) has attracted the support of serios players in the creative economy, including Ingenious, the company that's invested in everything from Avatar to Hat Trick Productions and, through the work of its Director, Gerland Lidstone, is helping to create a new generation of businesses that blend creativity with business expertise.

Brockley has always been the home for many former Goldsmiths artists. With Deptford and New Cross on our doorstep and excellent links to established creative clusters via the East London Line, we have the opportunity to be home to many of their businesses too.