Formaldehyde King Damien Hirst Could Be Your Mentor

The Young British Artist takes on young British artists.

Image via Getty Images / Photo by Oli Scarff

Once a forerunner of the Young British Artists, Damien Hirst is now taking on actual young British artists as mentees. As part of the Future Generation Art Prize, which was launched by Zaha Hadid's brand new Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Hirst will act as a guide to rising artists under 35 in the U.K.

According to the organization's website, the Prize is in place "to discover, recognize and give long-term support to a future generation of artists. The Prize will be a major contribution to the open participation of younger artists in the dynamic cultural development of societies in global transition."

Besides Hirst, past mentors have included Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Andreas Gursky. The decision to have Hirst as a mentor, however, has felt some heat. Jonathan Jones of The Guardian writes, "As if he has not done enough already to corrupt the young." Then again, he did just write an alphabet book for children. Whether you think he would be a good mentor or not, it would be pretty cool to hang out in his formaldehyde lab.

RELATED: The 10 Damien Hirst Works You Should Know

 [via The Guardian]

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