Due to COVID-19 the annual art and photography exhibition that celebrates the school’s GCSE and A Level students’ achievements had to be held virtually. However, now that restrictions have eased the pupils were delighted to see their pieces being displayed in a real gallery for the first time.
The exhibition opened to the public on January 8 and ran until February 10 and Budehaven art was showcased in both galleries; art in the Willougby and photography in the Blanchminster Gallery.
The show entitled ‘Seeing the World Through a New Lens’ demonstrates a diverse range of media and concepts, celebrating work from both GCSE and A level.
Art teacher Rachel Miller said: “It was really exciting collating the work for this year’s exhibition at The Castle, entitled ‘Seeing the World Through a New Lens’. Although we had a virtual celebration of the amazing artwork our students created over lockdown, it’s even better when we can celebrate again in a public space and our annual Castle exhibition is a real highlight of the year.”
The art department would welcome any comments in the visitor’s book and the students would appreciate visitor’s response to their work too.
Rachel continued: “As a department we are very proud of the work our students continue to create and it’s wonderful to have this opportunity to share and celebrate their achievements in this beautiful space.”
Headteacher Dom Wilkes agreed. He said: “We are incredibly proud of our students, and their achievements. We want to shout about how amazing they are, and this is a perfect opportunity. The arts are so important to everyone. These subjects are as important as all other subject areas in school. Art and photography allow our young people to express themselves, and the way they view the world around them.
“They were very excited, and it was fantastic to see some of them in the exhibition when we, as a senior leadership team went to view the exhibition.”
When asked what his favourite piece on display had been, Mr Wilkes said it was near impossible to choose: “I thought is was all amazing. So impressive! It is difficult to have favourites. As a life-long Attenborough fan, the portrait of him was one of my favourites. However, I was so impressed by every single piece of work, that I cannot say I had a favourite. Well done everyone! It is things like this that make me so proud to be a headteacher. Thank you to all who contributed, and to Andy and all at the Castle for allowing us to exhibit.”
Thanks were expressed to Sarah Szaniszlo (Budehaven art and photography technician) for putting up the show and of the course the Castle for continuing to support the school in the celebration of students’ artwork.