The Middle School Visual Arts Exhibition once again brought together work from Grade 6, 7 and 8 in is a dynamic record of these students’ growing technical skill and confidence with a huge variety of media.

This year our young artists have explored a diverse range of themes, concepts, Artists and Cultures as starting points for their work.

Skills and techniques in printing, painting, drawing, sculpture and digital media are covered each year and this year includes three-dimensional animals made from glazed ceramics or constructed from natural or recycled materials, stop animation, Expressionist and thematic painting, printmaking based on this year’s grade expeditions, and intimate assemblages that reveal the personality of the artist.

Investigating the work of other Artists and Designers and the cultural and historical contexts within which they work, is an integrated part of their studies. Artists such as Emile Nolde, John Davis, Aubrey Beardsley, Mary Jane Chadbourne and John Olsen have inspired the students as they develop their ideas, skills and knowledge of media.

The work has been designed to encourage students to further develop their observational skills, to develop problem-solving capabilities, to work in collaboration with others and to refine their ability to communicate their ideas using a visual language.

Many of these students will go on to study the Visual Arts and Photography as part of their GCSE programme, the IB Diploma and beyond and this is a opportunity to witness a new generation of Artists as they start their journey.

Gabriel Esswood
Art Teacher
Dover Campus