South-East students take centre stage

South-East students take centre stage

South-East students take centre stage at london art exhibition

- Students from ten South-East schools display works at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA), as part of SEGRO Young Artists 2009 -

 

Artwork created by students at ten South-East schools took pride of place at the prestigious RSA in London as part of SEGRO Young Artists 2009, an annual initiative designed to inspire and develop young people's talent for art.

 

The exhibition was the culmination of a six month programme of activity that enabled the students to work closely with practising artists, such as Dionne Barber, to create an array of diverse artworks during the spring term.

 

Works produced by the students were this year themed around the 'world of work', and took many forms, ranging from digital to textiles, sculpture, photography and drawing.

 

During the exhibition finale, four works of art created by students from Arbour Vale Specialist Sports College, Bitterne Park School, Cheney School and The Folkestone Academy were purchased by SEGRO for display in the company's international offices. 

 

The schools and artists that participated in SEGRO Young Artists 2009 were as follows:

• Cheney School, Headington, Oxford - Sarah-Jayne Ebdon
• Bitterne Park School, Southampton - Annis Joslin
• Mary Hare School for the Deaf, Newbury - Jennifer Lapsley
• Reading Girls School, Reading - Michelle Dawson
• Theale Green Community School, Theale, Reading - Benjamin Bowen
• St Bernard's School, Slough - Dionne Barber
• Arbour Vale School, Slough - Dionne Barber
• Langley Grammar School, Slough - Bálint Bolygó
• St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury - Andrew Merritt
• Folkestone Academy, Folkestone - Linda Jane James

 

Following its success as a regional scheme for schools in the South-East, the SEGRO Young Artists 2010 programme will focus on new areas across the UK - Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, the London Boroughs, Manchester, Portsmouth and the Thames Valley. 

 

Outlining the importance of the programme, Ian Coull Chief Executive of SEGRO, said: "Creativity and innovation, whether in business or in the arts, is crucial to success, yet is often easily overlooked in the pursuit of more traditional forms of academic achievement.  This initiative is designed to help pupils redress this balance, and to realise the artistic potential that could otherwise go unnoticed."

 

Patty Cohen of Creative Junction added: "The main aim of this collaboration is to evoke a sense of inspiration, to encourage the students to develop a piece of work which means something to them and to celebrate their achievements with others.  The programme demonstrates a belief in the youth of today, offering pupils the opportunity to take a more creative approach to life and work.  We live in a world of images and we should make the most of listening, watching and learning from these young people."

 

The SEGRO Young Artists Programme was created by the pan-European property development and investment company, SEGRO, in collaboration with Creative Junction.  The programme partners the private and public sectors to encourage the development of high quality art work in schools.