Summer Art and Design Exhibition

It was incredible to once again be able to invite friends, family, staff and special guests to the Art and Design Summer Show after the past few ‘Covid’ years. An exhibition such as this celebrates the effort and achievements of all the students exhibited. It showcased the work from GCSE Art and 3D Design and A Level and IB Art. To mark the significance of this reinstated annual exhibition we were delighted that the world renowned artist Ai Weiwei accepted our invitation to attend and officially open this special exhibition with a speech.

Mrs Bloomfield-Proud, Head of Visual Arts offered not just a warm welcome, but a hot welcome (as it was a mere 33 degrees) and talked about the importance of exhibitions as an integral part of an art student’s journey, to be able to view artworks first-hand and having an opportunity to showcase work for an audience.

In the main opening speech, Ai Weiwei emphasised the importance of art and self-expression during times of uncertainty. He praised the art students of Stephen Perse for their creativity and gave words of encouragement to continue developing their passion for art. He then presented signed books and certificates to Year 13 students. The exhibition was officially open and everyone enjoyed the art and design and refreshments.

As commented by Jemima, a Year 12 student: ‘’The feel of the exhibition evening was really positive. It was busy throughout and it was really lovely to see that so many people were interested in looking at all of our school’s art students’ work, it was also informative for me to see what I will need to have done by this time next year. The fact that Year 12 work was on display was nice as well as it meant that people visiting got to see a glimpse of one piece of our work ahead of next year’s exhibition’’.

Congratulations to everyone who exhibited and visited and a heartfelt thank you to Ai Weiwei for taking the time to come and speak to us and inspire the next generation of artists and creating special memories for the students and their families.

Stephen Perse Sixth Form Open Evening – Thursday 13 October 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Click here to book your place.