Aimee takes a bite out of Big Appleduring New York art scholarship

The two-week scholarship is an on-going partnership between the two colleges and has been running for six years. Aimee won her place after presenting a convincing case to her tutors outlining why she should be chosen.

Aimee travelled across the Atlantic to join other students at the school and was able to gain a wider understanding of art, learn from world-renowned tutors, and take part in valuable critique sessions.

Aimee said: “It was such an amazing and memorable experience and I was able to get a glimpse of a possible future life I could have.

“The scholarship lasted for two weeks and it wasn’t until four weeks before the trip that I found out that I had been successful. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of New York City and it was incredible.

“I flew from Gatwick by myself and stayed in an Air B’n’B not too far from the Studio School in Lower Manhattan.

“The School specialises in drawing, painting, and sculpture, and each day I would join life drawing classes and then spend a couple of hours each evening taking part in critiques.

“I think I was the youngest person in the class, as most students were studying MFAs (Masters in Fine Art), but I didn’t mind because it was really constructive and nice to hear people, who have more experience than me, say nice things about my work. Even established painters were complimenting my work.

In my spare time, during the evenings and the weekends, I was a typical tourist. I went to the Rockefeller building, spent an hour in Time Square, got the ferry over to Staten Island, visited the 9/11 memorial site, went to Macy’s, and spent lots of time exploring all the different galleries.

“The experience has given me so much confidence. helped me to understand where I stood on my opinions on a lot of things to do with art.”

Aimee will be joining Goldsmiths, University of London in September to study a degree in Fine Art.

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