Central Saint Martins College

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Established:	1854
Dean:	Jane Rapley OBE
Location:	London, United Kingdom
Affiliations:	University of the Arts London
Website:	www.csm.arts.ac.uk

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (often abbreviated as Central Saint (St.) Martins, Saint (St.) Martins or CSM) is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London and is widely regarded to be one of the world's leading art and design institutions.^[1]

Profile

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design was formed in 1989 from the merger of Central School of Art and Design (1896) and Saint Martins School of Art (1854). Central Saint Martins became a constituent College of the London Institute in 1986, a federal body formed by the Inner London Education Authority to bring together London's art, design, fashion and media schools into a collegiate structure for administrative purposes. The London Institute was granted University status and was renamed University of the Arts London in 2004. The Drama Centre London, founded in 1963 and the Byam Shaw School of Art, founded in 1910, joined Central Saint Martins in 1999 and 2003 as integral schools, maintaining their individual titles and teaching approaches. Central Saint Martins is currently collaborating with the London Studio Centre to develop new courses in dance and related disciplines.^[2]

Central Saint Martins remains one of London's most revered art and design institutions, producing some of the most important artists, designers and performers over the last 150 years and has developed an internationally recognized research profile as rated in the Research Assessment Exercise in 2001.^[3] The Queen's Anniversary Prize was awarded to Central Saint Martins for its significant contributions to the UK fashion industry and for nurturing the creativity of students in 1998.^[4] Central Saint Martins also attained Skillset Media Academy status in 2007, recognizing the achievements in the area of media and interactive design.^[5]

Central Saint Martins establishes links between artistic practice leading to research projects and employs graduates onto national and international design consultancy schemes through its Innovation Centre and Design Laboratory. Central Saint Martins has become one of the largest providers of art and design education in the world ^[6] and has registered museum status for its historical and contemporary collections.^[7]

History

The Central School of Art and Design, formerly the Central School of Arts and Crafts, was established by the London County Council in 1896 to provide specialist art teaching for workers in the craft industries. The school was intended to be a centre at which art scholars and students could be brought under the influence of established artists and employers. The aim was a direct outcome of the Arts and Crafts movement sponsored by William Morris and John Ruskin. The Royal Female School of Art, founded in 1842, was transferred to the London County Council and was incorporated into the Central School of Art and Design in 1908. The architect, educationalist and conservationist William Lethaby was a key figure in the foundation of the school and was appointed joint principal with George Frampton from 1896 to 1911. Under Lethaby the Central School of Art and Design was innovatory in both its educational objectives and teaching methods. The majority of teachers were successful practitioners of their crafts, and provided the school with a variety of practical skills and valuable contacts with the creative industries.^[8]

Saint Martins School of Art

The Saint Martins School of Art was established in 1854 and was founded by the parochial authorities of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The vicar, Reverend M McKenzie, and others were concerned that industrial education should be developed and allied to the general education already provided by Church schools. Art education was intended to form part of this industrial instruction for apprentices. The school became independent of the parish in 1859. The school was recognised by the Technical Education Board of London County Council in 1894 and became part of the development of technical education taking place in London and Britain. The school became firmly established as one of the major fine art and commercial art schools, producing many well-known artists of the era.^[9]

The Gilbert-Garret Competition for Sketching Clubs was started in 1870 at Saint Martins School of Art, during Mr. John Parker's term as headmaster, and was named after its first president, Sir John Gilbert. ^[10]

Drama Centre London

The Drama Centre London was founded in 1963 by a breakaway group of teachers and students from the Central School of Speech and Drama, led by John Blatchley, Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes. The school is a member of the Conference of Drama Schools^[11] and its undergraduate Acting course is accredited by the National Council for Drama Training.^[12] The Drama Centre London merged with Central Saint Martins in 1999.

Byam Shaw School of Art

The Byam Shaw School of Art, founded by the artists John Byam Shaw and Vicat Cole in 1910 as a school of drawing and painting (originally located in Kensington, until its move to Archway in the 1990s), merged with Central Saint Martins in 2003.

Schools and location

Central Saint Martins comprises five schools:

• School of Art
• School of Fashion & Textiles
• School of Graphic & Industrial Design
• Drama Centre London
• Byam Shaw School of Art

The schools are based in London with sites situated at Holborn, Soho, Clerkenwell and Archway.^[13]

Kings Cross

Central Saint Martins has revealed plans to move to a purpose built complex at Kings Cross in 2011. The move will create one college site thereby unifying the five schools at one location.

Showcase

Gallery

Central Saint Martins houses the Lethaby Gallery and the Window Gallery that collectively exhibit historical and contemporary collections. Established in 1896, the galleries include books, prints and original works of art and design. The College has an active policy of collecting contemporary work by its staff, students and alumni. The College also does research, produces publications and curates exhibitions based on the collections it holds.

Cochrane Theatre

The Cochrane Theatre is a receiving and producing theatre that aims to present all aspects of the performing arts within a proscenium arch. The theatre is situated next to the College's Southampton Row campus in Holborn. The theatre largely serves as a performing platform for students and alumni of the Drama Centre London.