Gallery: Wingfield celebrates youthful talent

Mention school art exhibitions and the heart can sink. However, Arts Editor Andrew Clarke has encountered a schools art exhibition that can equal any professional show.

The recently relaunched and revitalised Wingfield Arts is this month home to one of the most inspiring exhibitions you are likely to see this year. They have gathered together some of the best rising young artists from across the county and mounted a show to celebrate youthful talent.

Work from sixth form artists from 19 schools from across Suffolk are represented in the show which also gives these youngsters their first professional exhibition.

The aim of the Wingfield Art Award is to provide talented youngsters with a springboard to help further their artistic careers. The show has been pulled together by Wingfield's general manager Geoff Doggett and Tim Wilson, county art advisor. Both men are delighted with the show which fills two galleries at the Wingfield Barns site.

Geoff said that when Wingfield was relaunched earlier this year, the new management team, were determined to revive the arts award because they believed it was the best part of what Wingfield Arts was all about.

“It's about celebration and inspiration,” says Geoff Doggett. “It celebrates the best of Suffolk's young talent and it inspires other people to follow in their footsteps. It brings in kids who are younger and gives them something to aspire to and it shows to the wider community the fantastic work going on in schools that otherwise wouldn't be seen.”

He said that although this was the first show under the new regime, it was the fifth Wingfield Arts Award show over all. He remains dazzled by the talent on display and the sheer diversity of the work.

“If you have ever been to one of the Wingfield art awards you will have come out feeling inspired and wanting to celebrate young peoples art in Suffolk. The award is open to all A level art students at state schools in Suffolk. This year we had entries from 19 schools out of a possible 26. Next year we hope to have entries from everyone.”

Planning is already underway for next year's exhibition and they are hoping to turn over the whole Wingfield Barns site to the award exhibition.

Not only is the award show unique in this country, the show is also defined by the fact that all the entries are accompanied by the artist's journals and work books - which are frequently works of art in their own right.

By flicking through these illustrated journals, cram-packed with doodles, notes, test studies, practice runs, inspirational cutting from newspapers and magazines, visitors can get inside the head of the artist and get a glimpse at the sheer amount of thought and effort that goes into producing a single piece of work.

Tim Wilson said: “I love looking at the work books because you see real passion and professionalism. I love the journals and we stipulate that each piece that is submitted has to be accompanied by not just one journal but all the journals, so we can see the work develop.

“What we have done is make the journals part of the exhibition, so the public could see them as well and what we did was make studio four the journal space. Alan Jones, the designer of the catalogue, told me that was his favourite space to go. Also we found that more and more people were spending time there after visiting the main exhibition - particularly other school groups, they use it for inspiration for other pupils, exchange of ideas, points for discussion. I believe it underpins the whole project.”

Tim has been the mainstay of the exhibition since he first help develop it with Wingfield's original director Ian Chance.

“The strange thing was that it was a chance meeting on Diss railway station that really brought this amazing project into existence. It was in 1999. Ian and I were both travelling down to London. I was on my way to Liverpool and he was just going to Liverpool St. We both knew one another and got chatting. We had previously discussed in vague terms the possibility of hosting a student arts award but never had the opportunity to really discuss the ins and outs of it - never really got down to talking about how it would work.

“You could say that the Wingfield Arts Award was born on that train journey because it gave us an hour and a half to really explore the practicalities of running it and talk about our aims in some depth.

“We were both agreed that there are two main aims really. Firstly we want it to be a real educational resource, hence the work books, and the other is that we want to provide young artists with their first professional show. That was really the result that we came up with at the end of the Liverpool Street journey.”

He said that from the beginning he has been awe-struck by the standard of the work being entered for the award and the breadth of the subject matter and the materials being used.

“The sheer diversity of the work is what takes your breath away. What has changed over the years is the way that multi-media is now a very much accepted part of the work. Young artists are including different media and different influences in a way that they weren't ten years ago. The barriers have come down. There's no distinction in the categories between drawing painting, sculpture, textiles, it's all art.”

This year Tim and Geoff had to work out how they were going to get the increasingly large pieces on site for the show. Tim explained that there was one piece that had them scratching their heads with regard how they were going to get it there.

“We had to make special arrangements this year to transport a huge photo-collage rubics cube created by Weronika Wojcikowska from Deben High School because it was such a big piece. But, it was brilliantly and confidently executed piece. The standard of the work on display encourages us to go that extra mile to put it on display.”

It is a sentiment that is echoed by Geoff who is already clearing time in the Wingfield calendar to make sure all the site's resources are available for next year's show.

“Each school is invited to submit three pieces of work and the quality of work is outstanding. I find it amazing that the students are not only completing these dazzling works but they have to balance the demands of other subjects as well.”

Both Tim and Geoff agree that it is very important that not just fellow students and parents see the work but the wider community gets a chance to enjoy the talent on display.

“The great thing is that its not just for the GCSE or A Level students to come and have a look at other students work, it's there for everyone. It can inspire young and old alike. I think it's great for younger pupils to come and look and see work that they can aspire to, take inspiration from, and perhaps get a clue as to where they themselves might go.

I think it is great that parents and the family come and see just how much talent their children have. I had one mother come up to me and said that the launch evening wasn't for the kids it was for the parents. They are just so proud of what their children have achieved.”

Geoff added that one of the real strengths of the Wingfield Art Award was that it provided a confidence boost for those looking to move onto the next stage.

“Some of the students in the exhibition have now left sixth form and are starting their college career or taking a gap year. What we love about it is the fact that we believe that this is the only exhibition of its type celebrating students art work in the country. This is a unique venture and because it involves students and schools from across the county then it lifts the project way above what one school could achieve.”

The Wingfield Art Award is on public display until November 29. Wingfield Barns can be found at Church Road, Wingfield. IP21 5RA. It is open Tuesday to Friday and Sundays 11am to 4pm. Admission £3, under-18s £1.50.



Wingfield Art Award Winners.

Jessica Ciantar

Untitled

St Benedict's Catholic Upper School

Outstanding Achievement Award

Loretta Pirkle

"Reflection"

Farlingaye High School

Outstanding Achievement Award

Bryn Fitch,

"Composition IV"

Northgate High School

Outstanding Achievement Award

Bryony McIntyre

Untitled

County Upper School

Outstanding Achievement Award

Harrison Smith

Untitled

County Upper School

Outstanding Achievement Award

Emma Gould

"Dad"

Westbourne Sports College

Dogged Individualism Award