The Summer Show is a highlight of the Alleyn?s calendar. Here, Head of Art and Art History at Alleyn?s School, Ms Sally Reynolds, introduces the show and tells how students? creativity and resilience could not be thwarted by the lockdown.
In any art department?s calendar, the Summer Show is the grand focal point at the end of the year. It comes after the messy, explosive lead up in the studios, the final push and students then immersing themselves in the painstaking task of installing their works in the Great Hall over half term.
This year we were in full throttle and just a few weeks away from completing our GCSE Art and Pre-U A level courses, with students adding the finishing touches to their pieces, planning their installations and making final improvements to their sketchbooks, when the world came to an abrupt standstill. Students had to hurriedly raid the department for oil paint, paper and anything else they could find to complete their work at home; vans arrived shipping large scale pieces back to students? houses. Once the dust had settled after our lockdown evacuation, we were able to celebrate students? work and their final pieces that would have formed this year?s summer exhibition. This year?s Pre-U Year 13 art groups produced daring and edgy work. All have pushed themselves to take risks and as a result have ended up with a sophisticated body of work, already exploring complex concepts alongside an experimental approach to materials and processes, all underpin...