Fairfax Academy Arts Showcase – Talented A-Level and GCSE art students celebrated their imaginative artwork in a stunning afterschool display.
The Faces & Places exhibition took place on the 18th June, giving students, parents and staff the opportunity to appreciate the diversity and quality of Fairfax students’ creativity.
The vibrant and varied exhibition showcased artwork across many styles and media. Alongside more traditional media like pencil and paint were pieces created with textiles, ink, photography and more.
Among the pieces on display were remarkably lifelike portraits, thought-provoking landscapes and innovative pictures depicting architecture and still life. From the realistic to the surrealistic, Fairfax’s students covered it all.
Year 13 students Liberty Knowles used her grandad Mick as model for a powerful painted study of the difference between the different generations, by getting him to dress up in clothes usually seen on a teenager.
Talented Emily Hewston chose to work in more tactile mediums, fashioning masks from clay and creating colourful designs on T-shirts.
Fairfax Academy Arts Showcase was the result of two years’ work
Art teacher Molly Dyer was extremely proud of the students’ work.
Miss Dyer said: “This display is an annual event for Years 11, 12 and 13, and it’s something the students work up to all year.
“For two years, our GCSE and A-Level artists have been working on these pieces. They’re just brilliant, and I know the parents will be blown away when they get to see them.”
The Fairfax Academy Arts Showcase is just one of many ways in which Fairfax Academy, and the broader Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT), encourage and celebrate artistic expression. Extracurricular opportunities and house competitions give students the chance to spread their creative wings outside of lessons, which Principal Sean Castle believes is an essential aspect of the school’s culture.
Mr Castle said: “Yet again, the annual art exhibition has showcased some fantastic work. These students lead the way in creativity and talent, and they deserve to be celebrated.
“Year in, year out, our students create incredible artwork. The talent on display this evening really exemplifies how much we value the arts here.
“Art truly is a cornerstone at Fairfax.”