The final day of Activities Week saw our creatively minded Year 12 Art and DT students head to London to consider the steps beyond Sixth Form education at Leighton Park, both in terms of the plethora of creative degree courses available, to entrepreneurial start ups, through to a life long career of creative learning and discovery.
The end of the academic year brings a blossoming of new talent, presenting fresh, new ways of thinking and innovation, alongside the creative freedom to take risks and make change. The annual Free Range graduate shows at Truman’s, Shoreditch, became our first stop for the day, taking in animation, graphics, photography and fine art in an impressive show across some of the UK’s most pioneering and exciting art colleges. The entire area surrounding the once enormous brewery, is now East London’s primary destination for public and creative businesses alike. Many in the group were amazed at the playful, yet professional nature of each exhibition, spanning across 5 cavernous galleries.
A short hop away from the shows offered our next stop, Spitalfield’s Market, a place now synonymous with creative, hand made goods and for some traders, a vital link between art, design and commerce. The bustling stalls and atmosphere provided refreshed energy for the afternoon, as we headed to see the phenomenal show by David Hockney; possibly the UK’s most prolific artist, someone who has made a lifetime of fine art work, yet remains an advocate for embracing new technologies, while still a firm believer in drawing and looking as a foundation for growing creativity.
The new exhibit, near Granary Square in Kings Cross, presented an impressive , immersive experience , as his work came to life across the walls and floors of the new Lightroom gallery. Emerging from the gallery , we were presented a new way of seeing the world, reflecting the changed architecture and landscape around this newly developed corner of central London.
The group were able to take in the completed vision of architect Thomas Heatherwick and the Samsung HQ, with it’s flowing, organic canopy housing upmarket designer shops. This was a perfect precursor to our final stop of the day – UCL’s Barlett summer show.
On arrival, fellow art lover and critical thinker, Stephen Tayton, opened with ‘Wow!’ …as he became awe stuck by the models and detailed planning sheets on show. “ It’s quite remarkable to think that in less than 10 years students leave school and reach a level like this, that is out of this world!”
A truly celebratory and inspiring end to the day, showing just what is possible if ideas and processes are nurtured from the humble studios at LP. The power of creative thinkers can be a positive force for change and seeing exhibits, artists, designers and graduate work like this shows just how pioneering and fulfilling creative careers can be .
– Head of Art , Mark Wood
See more images on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAMppc
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