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.
On the 11th 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 21st 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.
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.
Hello! You are invited to come along to our forthcoming annual show, this year at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London- details as follows;
YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS is a showcase of work by 14-19 year old artists and designers, experimenting with painting, photography, drawing, craft, jewellery, fashion illustration, graphics, textiles, print, live art, video, sculpture, installation, community projects, interdisciplinary arts.
YBsA @ The Rag Factory16-18 Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ
At the Private View, come hang out in East London with the new up and coming YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS. Vote for the people’s prize in alTURNERtive painting and photography, browse the wares in a crafty market stall, and take part in a collaborative tribute to Alexander McQueen. You could win a young artists work in the art raffle, participate in live art events, enjoy a cupcake or a few iced gems, washed down with a glass of fizzy pop or two......Wear your best party frocks!
Please note:
Tickets for the Private View on the door only, arrive early to avoid queuing.
Just before the October break the Year 13 Visual Arts and Design Strand students took a trip up to Tate Britain to visit the Turner Prize. Although this years nominees have been seen by many as not as controversial as in previous years, the work still prompted a huge response from the students including the inevitable 'What is Art?' debate. Students have used this important and thought provoking exhibition to inspire further development in both their current projects based in painting and photography. The contemporary and thematic content of the work served drive our students into questioning in moredepth the reasons behind why they are creating art and also served to help push the boundaries on how this work can be presented in a non-traditional and conceptual fashion. Students also seemed to be completely divided on which artists work they preffered and although Lucy Skaer seemed to be quite popular, all four nominees recieved support by different students. You can make your own decisions by visiting the website here or by making the trip up to Tate Britain yourself.
YR10 Strand Visual Arts & Design presented their project "Marketing Markets" at the Language Assembly in term one. For this project students went on a trip to East London and selected a market stall each from Whitechapel market. They have spend the folowing weeks designing a brand and logo and a series of paper bag designs for their market stalls. Above students hand out paper bags at assembly.
If you were a past student of BRIT Visual Arts and Design we 'd love to have you join our online art community here! Let us know what you're up to, promote your work/shows on this blog, keep in touch with what we're up to now as well:)
To get in touch with us, please email britvisualarts@yahoo.co.uk
BRIT Visual Arts and Design staff and students contribute to this blog. We'd love to have comments on our posts to encourage debates about art beyond the traditional art studio :)
