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THE ALLEYNIAN 710
Creating a buzz
Mary Jo Doherty looks back on a year of notable achievements for some of our most talented and creative students
For many, the act of simply engaging in creative pursuits, and of pursuing a passion for Art purely for its own sake, is reward enough for the time and effort employed in bringing one’s ideas to fruition. That said, it is a welcome and additional pleasure when that creative energy and effort are acknowledged and celebrated by external forces, and this academic year the Art Department has enjoyed some particularly noteworthy successes in key national competitions and initiatives. Sam Stewart (Year 13) was selected as one of only eight artists to join the Barbican’s Young Visual Arts group, a two-year programme set up for young adults who are deeply passionate about developing their skills within the visual arts. In collaboration with other like-minded artists, Sam explored both art-making and critical-thinking skills, also building confidence in gaining a personal curatorial voice while sharing wide-ranging opinions within a creative environment. Sam was mentored and supported by some of the most creative and innovative people currently working in the visual arts, via workshops and sessions alongside practising artists and curators. The group programme culminated in the curation of two exhibitions and events at the Barbican during May. Sam’s year was also notable for his achievement in winning third prize in the University of the Creative Arts (UCA) 2021 Film, Media and Performing Arts Competition. His entry was created using a GAN (Generative Adversarial Network), a machine-learning framework which creates generative visual forms after being trained on ‘datasets’ of imagery. In this case, Sam utilised scans of his own face as the input data feed, with the subsequent video being generated purely from these images, using the algorithms of a GAN. The judges were impressed with the video’s visual texture, praising it for its artistic impact, as well as for its employment of alternative methods of gathering visual material. Sam’s innovative work was also included in a digital edition of Noia magazine. All eyes are on Sam as he looks to start his creative career on the Art Foundation Course at Kingston University next year. Archie McCombie (Year 11) won the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) Students Prize London with his stunning photorealist drawing Lines of Experience , depicting an
elderly Nepalese woman. The SAF Students Prizes are annual awards that celebrate the importance of art in the education system and recognise the quality of artworks produced by secondary school students across the world. The Students Prizes section invited art teachers from London secondary schools to nominate their students’ work. The judging panel, which comprised prestigious artists including Idris Khan OBE and Caroline Walker, shortlisted the 20 best artworks to be exhibited. Archie was also selected, along with Masud Alao (Year 12), Emilio Nunzi (Year 13) and John Abboodass (Year 11), to exhibit work at the Phillips auction house, with the proceeds donated to the charity Place2Be; it was a great honour for Dulwich College to have four artists included in this exhibition, and to continue to support the great work of the charity. Oliver Sachs (Year 12) was awarded first prize in his age group (Years 10 and 11) in this year’s Young Art Exhibition. The competition receives over 7,500 entries each year from students aged between four and eighteen, from 80 schools, mainly in London, with the pictures being judged by leading artists, including some Royal Academicians. Over the last 30 years, Young Art has raised more than £1,000,000 towards vital research into childhood cancers through Cancer Research UK. Oliver’s prize-winning entry was a steely gazed large-scale portrait, using the human face as a canvas with which to illustrate destruction, deformity and chaos. Showing climate erosion on a human face, with influences from artists like Januz Miralles and Jessica Rimondi, Oliver used ink drops to represent our melting ice caps, drawing connections with Olafur Eliasson’s Ice Watch . The unfinished background helped highlight climate change as an immediate and current problem. It is heartening to witness the continued success of our young artists, particularly as daring to expose their personal creations under the spotlight of a critical eye is often a somewhat daunting prospect. While we offer congratulations to the aforementioned highlighted students, we continue to applaud the imaginative risk-taking and creative diversity of all Dulwich art students as they journey through the department, whether they are eventual prize winners or not.
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