This week, three Art students improve their professional practice skills whilst welcoming the Art Ambassadors from Towers School and Sixth Form Centre, to help them create a huge mural collage which will be displayed at the entrance to The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge.
The mural will replace the current one which has been on display for over a decade. The brief the students received from The Beaney was to create a colourful collage which represents the artifacts in the museum.
Our students welcomed the 10 pupils from Towers School and Sixth Form Centre and led them from the EKC Canterbury College into Canterbury City Centre to have a tour of The Beaney and get some inspiration.
The excited pupils took photos of different artifacts at the museum and started rough sketches. They had some ideas planned already but drew inspiration from visiting the historic building.
Year 10 Towers School Student Ariesa explained: “We are all Art Ambassadors; you must be selected by the art teachers to gain this title. The idea is that we are the students that represent art at our school.
“Today was my first time coming into the College, I think it’s really cool. I would like to come to College in the future to study illustration so it has been great to see some classrooms.
“I love to doodle which is where my drawings usually start. I have taken inspiration from the ceramics at The Beaney to add detail and new shapes to my art piece.”
Once back at the College the students were tasked with sketching their chosen objects, adding colour then, adding this to the collage. They had to work as a team to place the sketches together to make a unique, eye-catching piece.
Talented illustrator and EKC Canterbury College Art student, Denada, told us about her part in the planning process: “I was involved with planning the event today. I am really excited to get to see the designs from the school students and work out the best way to create the collage.
“I love paining, graphic design and digital art. I am in the early stages of creating my own business drawing tulip characters which I’m hoping turn into merchandise like stickers and prints.
“My Art course really helps to build my confidence and think about my next steps. Especially when planning of events like these.
“The last mural was up for 10 years; it will be special to have a project I’ve worked on displayed for everyone to see.”
Caption: Denada, Jessy and Emma, EKC Canterbury Art students.
We asked Jessy and Emma, our Art students, why they think collaborating with Towers School and Sixth Form Centre pupils was important. Jessy remarked: “We live and breath art, whereas these guys have other lessons to go to as well. They will have different perspectives and ideas about what they saw in The Beaney.
“The creative freedom of College is what I love about it. At school you are told to ‘draw an apple’ at College you have the freedom to build the apple if you want to.”
Emma added: “This project helps us with our communication and planning skills; we have to work together, both with each other and the pupils, for a successful outcome.”
Head of Visual Art, Ben Kidger, oversaw the entire project. When asked about the impact of this collaboration, he commented: “My hope is that The Towers pupils will get a sense of collaboration, they will be making a bit of work that is shown to the public, that’s appreciated by the public, which is good for their own professional practice.
“It is part of our student’s course to work with a diverse range of community groups and to then create an outcome that again is appreciated by the public. Our students are showing excellent leadership and communication skills.
“It’s great to work with The Beaney. They’ve been fantastic for hosting our students on their placements. Working with The Beaney adds valuable real-world insight, and though integrating lots of ideas can be challenging, it’s a key part of producing a collaborative and meaningful outcome.
“Let’s hope this piece of work will be show in The Beaney for a decade, like the last piece!”
Creating significant connections with professionals working in the industry and preparing our students for life after College is really important to us. Enabling them to experience running events and collaborating with the community in this way is crucial to setting them up for a successful career.
Interested to learn more about our Art and Design courses? Check them out here.
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