Present and incorrect: our show @ Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, 10-12th December

WOW! we're now all madly preparing for our annual showcase- more to follow, but click on flyers for information!

Private view 5-9.30pm Friday 10th December

Show open Saturday 11th December 11-7pm, Sunday 12th 11- 4pm

We are photogirls! Fashion photography shoot inspired by Charlotte Mann

Today we had the brilliant 'We are photogirls!' in for the day for Year 12 and 13 BTEC National Diploma students 'Geek-Chic' One-Day Fashion Photography Workshop.

Students learnt about the different roles within fashion photography, and split into groups taking on roles transforming themselves into a creative team, becoming photographers, art directors, stylists, hair and make up designers and models.

They were introduced to the work of Charlotte Mann and introduced to techniques she uses to make her fashion backdrops, and design and drew their own fashion backdrop for the afternoons shoot.

We will have these and more photos on display in the forthcoming Rag Factory show, 10-12th December.

Croydon Regeneration project with McAlpine Construction

Over the first 5 weeks of this year our year 13 Design Pathway students have been working on a project for a live client, McAlpine Construction.
Their brief was simple - Create a series of inspiring images that presented the regeneration of Croydon in a positive light.
These images were then submitted to the client and are to be displayed at the Davis Training Suite in central Croydon which overlooks the site of the Council hall the is currently under construction. Not only will they be on display inside the building but some were also selected to be displayed on the hoardings around the building site and to be part of the visitors guide book.
The work has also been taken on by the Croydon Clocktower and will go on display as part of their Are we here? A Festival of Place. Their work will be on display in the Balcony Bar area of the Croydon Clocktower from the beginning of November.
This project has been an amazing experience and an unbelievable opportunity for our students to work with such a high profile client on a live project that has an enduring outcome.
I would like to offer our thanks to McAlpine Construction and Janine Jasper and the Croydon Clocktower and Sam Hunt.
Here is a little taster of what will be on display in and around Croydon:

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design Trip to Berlin

Last month we took our year 13s to Berlin for 4 days between the 3rd and the 6th of October. Having been to Berlin two years before we were all very excited with the prospect of returning and getting to re-visit the city with a new set of students.



The students spent their 4 days in Berlin exploring the Art and Design heritage of one of europes oldest and most vibrant capitals with a main focus on using their experience to inform their upcoming specialist pathway projects. It wasn't just the Art and Design side of Berlin that we experienced but rather we made the social and historical sides of the city a major part of the trip with visits to the Check Point Charlie museum and the Jewish museum.



Berlins rich and diverse heritage gave our students a broad range of influences and start points for their projects with the Visual Arts pathway focusing on craft practices and social history whilst the Design pathway focused on the range of design styles influenced by Berlins East and West history. Not only did we get to see it's historical past but one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Tacheles Gallery which is an artist commune that has taken over a derelict shopping mall in the Scheunenviertel area of Berlin. With all of the ethical, moral and recycling elements of the Design pathway project this was particularly useful for them.

All in all it was an amazing trip, the students and staff had a great time and enjoyed it thoroughly, with no problems other than a slight hiccup with some luggage on the way out it was one of the smoothest school trips we've ever taken!

Year 10 students explore the diversity of East London

Recently, our Year 10 BTEC course spent the afternoon recording the hugely diverse area around Whitechapel, Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market...





They photographed...



They produced some collaborative drawings (which gathered quite a bit of interest from admiring passers-by)...




And they viewed other art works around the area...
















In the coming weeks, students will be taking inspiration from the rich variety of sights they recorded during the trip to produce some creative printmaking and illustration, and some contemporary urban-influenced jewellery...

The work which will be produced as a result of this exciting trip will be shown at our forthcoming show at the Rag Factory (December, more details to follow)!

New Year 12 students 'Get Together' in the canteen- Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students offering a helping hand with little art interventions....

Having only been here for 3 days, Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students are already having a show- making fun and participatory art pieces encouraging students in the canteen 'get together' to make friends through the power of art- it was a great way to start conversations and break the ice, here are some examples;making friendship bracelets, mapping memories/encounters of the site so far, sharing chit chat over a cuppa with a builder, finding match made friends in a tent, finding a partner who has the same handmade pendant as you,making a friendship tree with students thumb prints.

More photos can be found here

Artist lead felt making workshop

This summer YR12 BTEC Nationnal Diploma Visual Arts & Design students worked with crafts-practitioner Izzy Norwood for three days to produce a series of experimental felt pieces including felt jewellery and accessories. This will feed directly into portfolios for progression.All had a great time exploring new skills.

Living Gallery 2010 at Dulwich Picture Gallery

What would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end?
Who would you save?
What would you keep?
How did the world start?
How will it end?
And what will happen when silence falls?


Living Gallery is an ambitious collaborative project between Brit School YR12 BTEC National Diploma Visual Arts & Design and Dance strand students in partnership with the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Students have explored the history of the gallery and the surrounding area as well as bringing new contemporary interpretations to the painting collections in order to produce a series of site specific artworks and physical theatre performances. The theme this year is Life and Death with a particular current of interest in the ‘end of the world’.

More photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britvisualarts/sets/72157624614656706/

YR10 Strand's community project

For the last few months YR10 strand have been working in collaboration with children and staff from Selhurst Early Learning Centre to produce a series of 'Space' inspired children's stories and story props in the form of puppets.

This is the first time Visual Arts and Design have worked on a community project with a pre-16 group and we are very excited about devloping this after the success of this project!

See more images at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britvisualarts/sets/72157624426831934/

Exhibition Success...

Last night the Visual Arts and Design Department had yet another exciting and innovative show. This time it was for our option and Additional Studies students who have been working extremely hard to produce energetic, touching and memorable work...

Nature:Nurture versus The City: gallery

Phew! Here are more photos from our show last night. A great night with our friends and families, with much to celebrate from our Year 11 and 13 BTEC Art and Design students eclectic mix of work.

Nature: Nurture v The City, Year 11 and 13 BTEC Art and Design shows

Hello, our end of year strand shows are on Thursday 20th May 4.30-8.30pm, visual arts studios, click on flyer for more information.

Following our great off site success in YBsA at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London, (reported here in East London Lines and images in our flickr gallery here) you are warmly invited to come to our Year 11 and Year 13 BTEC First and National Diploma Art and Design end of course shows, the former group has responded to the theme Nature:Nurture and the latter, The City.
Students are showcasing their Final Major Project work through a wide range of visual arts and design disciplines, from animation to painting, to video, printmaking, performance art, sculpture and fashion illustration. Year 13s will have browsers displaying their final portfolios and also sketchbooks will be accompanying the show for the Year 11s.

Hope to see you there!

Barcelona March 2010

On the 11^th of March 2010 the VAD Year 13 and A2 Art and Design students accompanied by Harry and myself descended on Barcelona for a 3 day feast of Artistic, cultural and historical exploration.

Having been warned by a parent just prior to departure of some freak wintry weather conditions in Spain we were a little concerned that we may not have packed sufficiently suitable clothing and footwear. Fortunately on arrival in Barcelona these fears seemed to be unfounded and although there was a slight nip in the air we were greeted by glorious sunshine. After a short walk from the central station up to our Hotel we were able to leave our luggage and embark on our first excursion of the trip. Our first port of call was the famous ‘Ramblas’ area on the edge of the old quarter, such a busy area full of market stalls and people offered numerous opportunities for students to sample some of the local food and get to the serious business of visual recording.

Having spent a couple of hours exploring the area we moved on to the CCCB gallery just up the road where we saw their ‘Art in the City’ exhibition which offered an eclectic and diverse range of contemporary work by current artists all exploring what the city means in the 21^st century. This provided some excellent support for the year 13’s whose Final Major Project title is ‘The City’ this year. By the time we left the gallery it was getting on for eight o’clock and we were all starting to feel the effects of having been up since 4 that morning. Tired and hungry we made our way back to the hotel for dinner and a well earned rest.

Friday greeted us with a grey, drizzly light and it seemed that our good fortune of the day before wasn’t going to hold and even more frustratingly this was the day that had been earmarked for all of our outdoors visits, undeterred we set off for Montjuc and the Olympic park. Despite the mist that hung over the city we spent an enjoyable and worthwhile morning exploring the castle at the top of the hill and the views it offered of the city before moving down the hill to walk around the legacy of Barcelona’s summer Olympics.

By lunchtime we were back down in the town itself to sample more Spanish cuisine before moving on to a tour of the Old quarter and the amazing range of twisting alleyways and gothic architecture. That afternoon the sun managed to break through a little more and we were able to enjoy the wonders of Parc Guell where we spent a long time taking in the inspiring work of Gaudi and Jojul. Afterwards the students we able to head back into central Barcelona and explore further before heading back to the hotel for dinner. That evening we ventured out once more, this time to see the city at night and in particular the wonderfully lit Casa Battlo.

Saturday morning provided the students with an opportunity to identify a particular area of the city that related to their own work and explore it in more depth. We also went to the Tapies gallery to see the collection of work and artefacts by one of Spain’s most innovative artists. All that remained after that was for the students to enjoy their last few hours in Barcelona before we headed back to the airport for our flight home.

Our three day trip to Barcelona was a real whirlwind tour and it was a shame that we had to make so many tough decisions about what we could and could not get to see. The students were brilliant from start to finish and behaved in a manner that was a real credit to them.

Rag Factory 2010 show: in progress and on now!

Show is open 27th and 28th March......see here for putting it up and other delights

Yr12 Dialogue Show

Dialogue show 19^th Feb 2010

After 7 weeks exploring the theme of ‘Dialogue’ via video, performance, live art and sound, the year 12 VAD students shared their findings with the school at their exhibition in ‘The Space’. Visitors were treated to an eclectic and exciting mixture of work that ran the full spectrum from Performance and interactive live artworks, through to installed video and sound pieces. All of the students worked incredibly hard to put the show together and a big thank you also needs to go out to the TTA students for sorting out all of the lighting and stage-work. The feedback by those who attended was amazing and all of the students involved should be extremely proud of what they produced in the time allotted and with the numerous technical issues that always arise when dealing with video and sound.