Sixth Form Students Visit London

London Art and Photography Trip.

On the 16th & 17th November, our 6^th Form artists and photographers completed a two day visit to London, enjoying a selection of world class exhibitions and collections in various galleries and museums.

Day 1

Our art students started their visit in the Tate Britain, which houses 500 years of British art, with the William Turner and Henry Moore collections being particular favourites. Our photography students travelled on to the South bank where they saw an exhibition of Hiroshi Sugimoto, an artist who is famed for creating some of the most enigmatic photographs of our time.

Next on the itinerary was the Tate Modern, as well as the impressive art collection we also had tickets for ‘Capturing the moment’, an exhibition which through an exciting selection of modern art explored the relationship between painting and photography. After a well-earned pizza, the day concluded with a practical workshop in the hotel, recording what we had seen during that day.

Day 2

Day two started with a visit to the Victorian and Albert museum, the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design. A real highlight was the expanded photography centre which tells the story of this medium from its origins. From there, we walked across London to the newly reopened National Portrait gallery, where the space is filled with over 220,000 portraits depicting notable Britons from the Tudor age up until the present day. We visited the David Hockney portrait and Taylor Wessing photography exhibitions too.

Last but not least, we explored the National Gallery next door, where as well as having tickets for the Fran Hals portrait painting exhibition, our students had an opportunity to view the impressive collection which tells the story of European Art.

It was a valuable and interesting trip for all who took part, as one art student said;

‘seeing the work of different artists really inspired me because I was able to see the different techniques that they used and how they painted their work close up’.

Another student commented;

‘being able to have a glimpse into the true artistic world through the galleries of the big city of London has truly illustrated to me how sensational and versatile art is and has broadened my idea of photography.’