Hewett Academy Celebrates Student Creativity in Young Artists Exhibition

On the evening of Friday 7th July, Hewett Academy’s art exhibition took place in their second floor space, showcasing the outstanding creativity and talent of the school’s students. 

The exhibition featured a selection of works from Year 11 students, to round up their final year in secondary education, and included a broad range of subject matter and mediums from embroidery, sculpture, photography, painting, and collage. The artwork throughout the exhibition showed a high-level of creative maturity, with the attendees expressing their admiration for the talent and skill of the young artists. 

Throughout their time at Hewett Academy, students explore their own personal creative practices and experimentation is encouraged. In May, it was announced that four students were selected to take part in the Young Artists Summer Show at the Royal Academy of Arts. These works included a sculpture, a painting, a photograph and oil pastel piece. Copies of these works featured as part of the exhibition at Hewett Academy, as the originals were sent to London for the summer exhibition.   

The Hewett Academy’s Catering Manager, Jackie Sweeney prepared a fantastic spread of appetisers for guests to the exhibition, including tomato salsa on bruschetta and smoked salmon blinis, which was served by students alongside drinks.

Principal of The Hewett Academy, Antony Little said: 

“The Hewett Academy is a well known landmark for creativity in Norwich and this incredibly diverse and exciting showcase tops off another fantastic year for the staff and students. We couldn’t be more proud of everything that they have achieved and we know that lots of them will go on to further their creative education in the future.”

Head of Creative Arts at The Hewett Academy, Amy Lee curated the exhibition and said:

“The creativity and diversity of approaches and outcomes by our Year 11 make for an exciting and progressive exhibition which belies the ages of the artists. Our photography students have demonstrated incredible independence; designing, styling, directing and editing shoots in a range of costumes, locations and times of the day. 

 

We are delighted to have our students recognised for their exceptional art by such a prestigious and well respected institution as The Royal Academy of London. 

 

Hewett students continue to create work of an excellent standard, a trend that will continue with our Year 10. We are immensely proud of their efforts and determination, especially as a Year Group who were heavily impacted by the Covid lockdown. They are an inspiration.”

Year 11 student Spike P uses long-exposure photography and light to create movement in his works, giving the effect of electrical currents against a night landscape. He said: 

“The teachers here have given me lots of opportunities to experiment and develop my practice. They’ve given me very good examples as inspiration, and given me cameras and tripods to use, which have helped the quality of my photos, and also given me an extra level of enthusiasm. 

 

It feels surreal seeing my work as part of this exhibition at the end of the year, because I know I did the work and I’m really proud of it, but it also makes me nervous because everyone is looking at it. It is very cool to have it up though.” 

Year 10 student, Lacy S uses photography to capture moments with her grandfather as cares for his pigeons, exploring themes of love, freedom and flight. Lacy’s work has been selected twice to take part in the Young Artists Summer Show at the Royal Academy of Arts, and this year, Lacy’s photograph, which was selected for the exhibition, features her grandfather's hands carefully cradling a white pigeon dove. She said: 

“It feels really good to see my practice up on the wall - it’s nice to have it finished. I’m going on to do Art and Design at Norwich City College, so I will definitely be continuing my photography practice as part of my studies. 

 

It feels great to have my work selected for the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and considering it’s the second time my work has been chosen feels great, and a bit overwhelming! I’m excited to go to the launch in August to see my work as part of the exhibition.”

The Hewett Academy places a high value on the creative arts, understanding that this develops a set of highly desirable skills and qualities sought by employers such as entrepreneurship, adaptability, innovation, problem-solving, curiosity, imagination and vision. As a result, the school provides its students with a broad range of opportunities and equipment with which to explore their creativity. 

Students are allocated a significant proportion of learning time to creative endeavours, with key stage three students taking two hours of Art, one hour of Graphics and one hour of Textiles each week in addition to a rotation of Food Technology and Drama in our very own specialist theatre. Hewett Academy ensures that students have access to a full range of facilities and equipment including a 3D printer, vacuum former, digital drawing tablets, 3D pens, sewing machines and digital cameras. Students also have the use of computers with the full Adobe Creative Suite, dark rooms for photograph development, a photographic studio, a theatre and a professional kitchen. GCSE students are also provided with an artist studio space and toolbox, stocked with a range of art supplies. 

The Hewett Academy will be hosting their annual Open Day on Tuesday 26th September from 6pm to 8.30pm, as well as Open Mornings from Monday 2nd October to Friday 6th October. They encourage those interested in applying for the school, to attend for a tour of the school’s fantastic facilities, and to speak to current students, teachers, and the Principal.