Ontelly

School of Saatchi - Episode 2

Logo for School of Saatchi - Episode 2

Charles Saatchi, the powerful art world kingmaker behind the Brit Art revolution, is looking for the next Tracey Emin or Damien Hirst. He will select six unknown artists and set them up in their own east London studio. Here they will be commissioned to make a series of ambitious artworks which will be assessed by Saatchi and a panel of experts. Ultimately Saatchi will select one artist to join his next major exhibition, Newspeak: British Art Now, at the Hermitage Gallery in St Petersburg, and offer them the additional opportunity of their own studio for three years. The series will explore the strange and controversial world of contemporary art and try to discover the substance that lies behind the hype. Saatchi's six chosen artists are commissioned to produce large-scale pieces of art for the seaside resort of Hastings. They have two weeks and a limited budget to create work that appeals to the general public. For avant-garde contemporary artists this poses a considerable challenge. As they conceive and create their work, the artists receive advice and criticism from controversial Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed and art writer Matthew Collings. When their work is constructed on the seafront in Hastings, the artists come face-to-face with the public and have the pleasure of discovering what they think. The final judgment on the artists' success or failure is down to Charles Saatchi and his panel of advisors.