The Salopian - Winter 2021

SCHOOL NEWS 41
ART
With all the COVID-19 restrictions lifted at the start of
the Michaelmas Term, we were delighted to be able
to begin the term with the rescheduled GCSE and A-Level
Final Show in the Art School Galleries. This was a wonderful
opportunity to admire and celebrate the incredible work
produced by artists and photographers in 2020-21, especially
under such strange and difficult circumstances. On show
was a huge variety of work across all disciplines, including
painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, film, textiles and
ceramics, covering a vast range of themes. Our Upper Sixth
2021 leavers were such an ‘arty’ year group, with over half
of the cohort going on to study creative courses including
Fine Art, Surface Pattern, Fashion, Film, Architecture, Digital
Photography, Textiles and Events Management.
Art trips have made a welcome return to the Faculty calendar.
We have all enjoyed getting students out and about again,
with weekly Creative Arts trips to local venues showcasing art
and architecture; a Fifth Form trip to Tate Liverpool and the
outstanding Lucian Freud retrospective; and a Fourth Form
recording and collecting mission to the Botanic Gardens
in Birmingham and the exciting contemporary work at the
IKON gallery.
At the beginning of October, in our freshly redecorated
gallery, we hosted the Old Salopian Art Exhibition on a
theme of ‘Salopian Memories’, directed by OS artist Timothy
Morgan Owen. During the hanging of the show, Tim even
brought back some of his A-Level work to show us and took
us back to his actual studio spot! It was lovely to see our OS
friends back in the building showcasing some phenomenal
artistic skills. A particular highlight was the portraiture of
Maximillian Baccanello and his drawing of ‘Rania’, which
recently won the 2021 Henri Rouche award at The Pastel
Society. Henri Rouche is the oldest pastel manufacturer in
the world. OS graphic designer Nigel Davies has developed
the Floreat Salopia anagrams that he first created for the OS
charity postcard auction in 2019, into a series of witty posters
and postcards which continue to raise money for the Shewsy,
our youth club in Everton.
We finished the first half of term with a surge of energy
for The Big Draw 2021. This year’s theme was ‘Make the
Change’. The Big Draw is an annual worldwide art event that
takes place throughout the month of October with the aim
of getting the nation drawing, regardless of age, gender and
background. Here at Shrewsbury, we organised a number of