Hornsey College of Art
Hornsey College of Art (aka Hornsey School of Art) is a former college centred in Crouch End, London, England. Since 2008, the building has been a part of Coleridge Primary School, upon its expansion to four form entry. Founded in 1880, it became the Hornsey College of Arts and Crafts in 1955 and later part of Middlesex University.
[edit] The 1968 sit-in
During 1968, the college was the scene of protests when students occupied the Crouch End Hill site.[1] Students attending the multi-site college convened to discuss the withdrawal of Student Union funds and resolved to sit-in. During this period they effected a temporary administration of the college supported by sympathetic academic staff and visiting artists. They offered a critique of the education system at the time.[2] Some of these documents were presented as part of a project called The Hornsey Project. The college was repossessed by local authorities at the beginning of the summer break.
After the protests, Tom Nairn, writer and academic, was dismissed from the college. Kim Howells, a student and Nick Wright, then President of the Students' Union on a sabbatical year, initiated the sit-in. Howells later became a trade union official and a Minister in Tony Blair's government.
The major documentary film Our Live Experiment is Worth More Than 3,000 Textbooks about the Hornsey sit-in was made by director John Goldschmidt for Granada TV and transmitted in 1969.
"The Hornsey Affair", a book by students and staff at Hornsey, was published in 1969 by Penguin Books.[2]
[edit] Notable alumni and teachers
- Martin Aynscomb-Harris, artist
- Michael Casson, potter
- Ray Davies, musician
- Les Edwards, illustrator
- Ken Howard, artist
- Allen Jones, artist
- Anish Kapoor, artist
- Ken Kiff, artist
- Bryan Kneale, artist
- Langlands and Bell, artists
- Dante Leonelli, artist
- John Napier, theatre designer
- Paul Neagu, sculptor, performance artist
- Hallsteinn Sigurðsson, Icelandic sculptor and visual artist
- Stanley Warren, art teacher, author of the Changi Murals as a Japanese prisoner of war
- Eric Watson, photographer
- Richard Wentworth, artist
- Richard Wilson, sculptor
- Theresa Wiseman, footballer and animator
- The Raincoats, rock band, members Gina Birch and Ana da Silva
[edit] References
- ^ What happened at Hornsey in May 1968 — Nick Wright.
- ^ a b Various (1969). The Hornsey Affair. Penguin Education.
