West Dean Fine Art Summer Show opens

This year’s Summer Show 2022 will showcase original work by emerging artists studying for their graduate diploma in fine art and MFA degrees .

The free exhibition, held in the College's Edward James Studios, will display a diverse range of practices including sculpture, installation, print, painting, video, ceramics and textiles.

David Stent, subject leader and coordinator (fine art), said: “It is wonderful after a two-year break due to the pandemic that we can welcome visitors from far and wide to our summer show again.

" The MFA (Master of Fine Art) is an advanced two-year programme, offered as full-time or blended delivery, with an emphasis on specialist studio practice.

" The key element to the students’ journey and along with the fully equipped workshops, expert tutors and lecturers, it attracts students to West Dean. Over the years students have met a wide variety of visiting tutors and artists in residence in addition to access to material from the college’s amazing collection and archive which undoubtedly inspires their creativity.”

Jemima Moore, who is studying at West Dean for a graduate diploma in fine art, originally living in London and working as an i nterior designer, moved to West Dean after being seduced by the surrounding landscape and buildings.

She said: “The summer show at West Dean is a great opportunity for us students to exhibit our work to the community here in West Sussex.

" We have wonderful large studios which we all work together to repaint and prepare as an exhibition space. We then work individually and collectively to hang the exhibition, ensuring that connections are made between our works. It will great to be able to talk to the people that visit and to see how viewers respond to our work.”

Chantal New is a first-year student studying for an MFA. She chose to come to West Dean because of its history, location and the amount of time students have with tutors. Before West Dean, she was working as a graphic designer in Canada.

She said: “The summer show at West Dean is an exciting opportunity to show the work produced by the fine art department to the community. A lot of hard work goes into transforming the space and it's really amazing to see it all come together. It's a unique space with rich history and getting to show our work in that context is special. I look forward to the conversations and inspiration that will be sparked throughout the exhibition. My work involves a variety of media from drawing to concrete, and an aspect of the summer show I really enjoy is the curation and deciding how to exhibit my work.”