Thank you 2024
Celebrating the ways our supporters and alumni helped students at Goldsmiths in 2024.
Welcome to our 2024 Alumni and Supporters Annual Review. As a valued member of the Goldsmiths community, thank you for your incredible support which has a huge impact on students, colleagues and projects that couldn’t happen without you. We are delighted to share these stories of your impact in 2023/24 and beyond.
The Equity Awards programme in 2024
The Equity Awards programme supports students from Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) backgrounds (formerly known as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students) studying any subject across the College.
Equity Awards give a vital financial cushion to students most in need, are a source of pride and a spur to move forwards. They enable students to embrace their Goldsmiths education and help to bridge the Awarding Gap that unfortunately exists – at our university and across the UK – between GEM students and their white counterparts.
Donations to the Equity Awards have an incredible impact on many people’s lives. On behalf of our beneficiaries, we would like to thank all our donors and supporters.
Students Heavadny, Melina and Alex (known as Morley) share their experiences as Equity Award recipients
Equity Award students' progression and academic results
In 2024, the overall results of our Equity Award students, in terms of continuation on their courses and their academic achievements, have made all involved most proud.
Equity Award recipients are showing excellent rates of progression that show - when compared both to GEM students without an Award and white students - that the Awards are having a strong impact. This academic year, of the 65 recipients in their second and third years, only three students left their courses. (Figures accurate as of end November 2024). Giving up your studies part-way through can be devastating in terms of both personal confidence and finances and is an issue that particularly affects GEM cohorts – we are delighted to see such a positive reduction.
Of the students who completed their degrees from the first cohort, all but one student achieved a 2:1 or a First – which is a tremendous achievement for the students and the programme. It really demonstrates how interventions like the Equity Awards, which offer students both financial and pastoral support, make a huge difference in closing the Awarding Gap between GEM students and their white counterparts.

Matthew celebrates his Graduation
Celebrating Graduation with our Equity Awards recipients
Our Summer 2024 Graduation ceremonies saw the first cohort of Equity Awards recipients graduate. Matthew Taryee Laryea received a First Class Degree in Youth Work. His achievements, and the support he received from the Equity Awards programme, caught the attention of local paper Southwark News.
He told the paper: “Although the cash was incredibly important, the Equity Awards scheme helped more than financially.
"It really supported my well-being and mental health. In terms of the imposter syndrome and thinking ‘am I supposed to be here, do I deserve to be here?’ it’s one thing to know you have potential, but the Equity Awards programme really pushed me, and it made me feel cared about and that it was always ready to help."
The Rob Stringer Scholarships and Endowment Fund
Rob Stringer, BA (Hons) Sociology 1984; Honorary Fellow of Goldsmiths; Chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, has generously funded 13 scholars in the Music Department since 2012.
I have used my funds entirely towards my student loan which I am very grateful for as it is an investment in my education, and a part of my student loan I don’t have to worry about in the future.
Poppy - Rob Stringer Scholarship recipient

Music can be a very expensive subject to study at university. For example, a student may need to buy an instrument or pay for music lessons. Rob Stringer’s donations have made a huge difference on a practical level, as well as imparting a sense of pride and confidence to the 13 recipients so far.
The Rob Stringer Scholarship has additionally been fantastic for the Music department in terms of bringing prestige and attracting talented students. The department was delighted to be able to make two awards in 2023/24.
I’ve used funds to catch up on utility bills and for general food and supplies. It was also helpful to use funds towards a short trip to Margate where I was able to focus on completing two essays. Without the cash assistance, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the tasks to a standard that I could feel proud of. Once again, I am extremely grateful for this award.
Clinton - Rob Stringer Scholarship recipient

In addition to these important music Scholarships, we are delighted that the College has additionally received an outstanding endowed gift from Rob Stringer to support the Equity Awards Programme.
Rob Stringer’s gift will provide an anchor for the Awards in perpetuity and, as such, the impact of his generosity is amazing. By endowing his donation, he is also supporting the College’s goal of building a major endowment to secure greater financial stability for the future.
Equity Awards from Rob Stringer’s Endowed Funds were awarded as of autumn 2024 and will be awarded in perpetuity thereafter.
On behalf of Goldsmiths, and the many students whose lives will be touched by his generous support, both now and in the future, we would like to offer Rob a huge vote of thanks.
Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art in 2024
In 2024, we remained committed to bringing world-class art and artists to South East London. We engaged thousands of local students, young people, families, and schools in contemporary art, and offered many aspects of art education that are not widely accessible in the UK.
Our Residents programme continued to provide students, young people, and artists with a space within the gallery, mentorship from our curatorial staff, and operational and funding support. This is helping to break down the barriers that people in our local communities face when attempting to access, and make an impact upon, the art world.
Our platform for younger artists, Episodes, provided three more emerging artists with their first exhibition in a UK public institution. This institutional support and mentorship of artists at the very early stages in their career is vital. We are delighted to have built up quite a legacy through Episodes of artists going on to achieve great gallery representation and museum shows.
We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery in 2025. Our first show of the new year, opening February 2025, is entitled So, So, So. This will be the first UK solo exhibition of painter Galli (b.1944, Germany). After a six-decade career, Galli’s work, including painting, books, collages, and drawings, is finally gaining the attention it deserves. It will come to the CCA in an exciting and momentous one-woman exhibition across all our galleries.

Installation View: Laila Majid and Louis Blue Newby, Inner Heat (8 November 2024–12 January 2025). Courtesy Goldsmiths CCA.

Installation view: Sammy Baloji (4 October 2024–12 January 2025). Courtesy Goldsmiths CCA.
Rob Harris
Remembering the late Joan Thewsey
We would like to recognise the exceptional generosity of the late Joan Thewsey who remembered Women’s Art Library (WAL) at Goldsmiths in her Will with a gift of £661,396.76.
Joan wished for her gift to be used to support exhibition opportunities for women artists working in two-dimensional paintings and drawings through the WAL at Goldsmiths. Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) will be working in partnership with the WAL to support and provide opportunities for women artists, and to promote and motivate interest and understanding in two-dimensional painting and drawing.
The Women's Art Library and CCA will honour the gift in Will left by Joan Thewsey in a series of exhibitions across a ten-year period. In tandem, it will create learning and engagement activities which will ensure this gift enables our students and local communities to be educated and inspired for many years to come.
Sarah McCrory, Director of Goldsmiths CCA said, "We are very grateful to Joan Thewsey for leaving such a generous legacy to the Women’s Art Library and the CCA."
“It is a wonderful opportunity to allow the space for amazing exhibition making. It will support and draw attention to women artists across generations, to two-dimensional painting and drawing, and it will engage public audiences, our students and academic communities.”
Migrant Futures Institute

We are delighted to announce that Goldsmiths has secured significant funding to launch a new Migrant Futures Institute (MFI) at the College.
The generous award from Oak Foundation will enable us to establish an ambitious new centre focused on advancing migration studies and dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by migrants through research, partnerships and engagement with migrant communities locally, nationally and internationally.
The MFI will be formally launched in academic year 2025-26, the year Goldsmiths celebrates 120 years since we opened our doors to students as Goldsmiths College.
Professor Frances Corner, Vice-Chancellor of Goldsmiths said, "We aim to work closely both with people with migrant and refugee backgrounds and in communities of welcome to amplify diverse voices, challenge dominant narratives, and foster deeper understandings of migration, citizenship, and belonging."
Find out more on the Migrant Futures Institute web pages.
Alchemy
Alchemy offers professional and creative music skills training, public performance opportunities, and mentoring for local young people (aged 13-18) who are at risk of being excluded from school.
In 2023/24, we were delighted to receive a generous donation from Goldsmiths Honorary Fellow, Sir Vernon Ellis. In 2024, his contribution was instrumental in launching the new Alchemy Masters Programme. This initiative empowers young people aged 18 and over, with at least two years of experience as participants in Alchemy, to become the next generation of Alchemy project designers and facilitators.
The programme offers paid training over the course of one year that equips participants to launch their own Alchemy-inspired offshoot projects in the community. They will also develop bespoke resources to bring music and additional support to a broader audience of young people.
Thanks to Sir Vernon's support, this groundbreaking initiative has already had a profound impact on young people in Lewisham and beyond. The Alchemy Masters Programme provides a safe space to learn and create, while opening doors to new opportunities, building confidence, and creating educational and career growth.

Alchemy Masters in workshop with singer Nawroz Oramari who teaches his ‘Electricity Voice Method

Kenny and Taiwo performing at Alchemy Live Event 2024
Thank you to our alumni community
We would like to recognise our amazing global community who come together to support the College and students through volunteering and donations.
In 2023/24, alumni contributed 59 volunteering hours as alumni mentors to undergraduate students. This was part of two mentoring schemes to support GEM students and students with disabilities. Alumni volunteered 66 hours for training on these programmes and 35.5 hours to additional activities supporting student employability. These included alumni panels, a portfolio review event and as employer representatives at jobs fairs.
A further 16 alumni contributed 64 volunteering hours, for example as speakers at events to support prospective students who want to study at Goldsmiths. Many alumni attended alumni events in China, Taiwan and the US.
We would also like to express thanks to the 303 alumni who generously donated a total of £550,523 including donations towards Equity Awards, Greatest Need, Student Hardship and Student Support, and Scholarships and Prizes in 2023/24.