Winner of the Anna Airy Award 2016

Congratulations go to Northgate art student Maria Balanuca for winning the prestigious Anna Airy Award 2016. The exhibition was organized by the society and hosted at the UCS Waterfront Gallery overlooking Neptune Quay. The long-established exhibition is renowned for showcasing the talents of young artists aged 16-20 from all around the county. Indeed, all the Northgate entries that were submitted were short-listed from a huge entry of student work from the Ipswich area and beyond.

This year’s adjudicator was artist Kate Bright, lecturer at The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL. Bright specialises in landscape painting and the ideas of illusion. Her work has been exhibited in the British Art Show, as well as in numerous solo shows both internationally and within the UK. Commenting on Maria’s painting entitled ‘Digital Perspective’ and some of the factors that contributed towards her winning the prize:

‘The empty centre of the painting shows the view, but the viewer is drawn to the boy who is more interested in the screen he is holding. There is a confidence in the painting that I recognize, as some of the choices you have made are quite risky, the positioning of the figure, the grass in the foreground (taking as much attention as the figure) the glimpses of underpainting that reveal a looseness in your practice that balances well against the tight composition. However, your painting shows a sophisticated understanding of composition, point of view and narrative, structure is key to this worthy winner. Congratulations.’

Darren Beattie, Head of Art & Design, offered his congratulations to all other Northgate art students who contributed towards the exhibition and notably Chelsea Spurgeon, former Year 13 student whose work was awarded a commendation certificate.  All the work looked stunning within the space and was admired by fellow students, family, teachers and artists of all ages. The open exhibition was well-attended by the Ipswich community and the work was on show to the public for a further two weeks.

Huge accolade for A Level Art student exhibiting her painting at prestigious London galleries

Congratulations must go to Ellen Lear, an A Level Art student who has recently had her work exhibited at two prestigious art galleries in London, including the Mall galleries and the Lloyd’s gallery. Ellen’s work was selected at the A Level art exhibition and submitted on behalf of IDFAS (Ipswich Decorative and Fine Art Society) amongst many works from all around the country to be considered for the exhibition hosted by NADFAS and the Royal Society of British Artists. The National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies – or simply NADFAS - has 98,000 members in more than 375 Societies throughout the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They also work with young people around the country to encourage and enhance their appreciation and understanding of art and our artistic heritage through their Young Arts and grant programmes.

The collaboration between NADFAS and the Royal Society of British Artists came about following a pilot project in East Anglia in 2009. There, Societies organised an exhibition of work chosen from eleven schools and two students’ work was selected to go forward to the RBA annual exhibition, including Northgate High School. The project was opened up to NADFAS Societies across the UK. This year fifty five Societies supported the venture and they submitted a staggering 348 images of original student work including paintings, ceramics and sculpture. The challenge was for RBA President James Horton and his fellow council members to select work which combined the highest levels of skill, expression and draughtsmanship.

Darren Beattie, Head of Art & Design, was proud to attend the award ceremony with Ellen and was very impressed with the high quality of work on display, representing the very best of A level work nationally. It is an invaluable opportunity to showcase students’ talent to a wider audience, and in seeking to make the Arts accessible to all.