A group of our super talented GCSE and A-level students were lucky enough to escape to the Big Apple in the October half term break, to find inspiration for their current Art and Textiles project work. With a jam-packed itinerary of New York’s stunning galleries, museums and the general cityscape, the group encountered a truly diverse range of influences and stimulus, recording their responses through some really creative photographs and accomplished sketchbook studies.

They were totally wowed by the artistic & architectural heights of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, immersive art at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, Brooklyn Bridge, The High Line and MoMA. We also ventured across the Hudson River to undertake a sculpture workshop at the iconic Noguchi Museum before taking lunch at the local Bel Aire American Diner.

The crisp blue skies and beautiful Autumn weather perfectly facilitated a number of fantastic opportunities for sketching skylines and iconic local architecture. These included strolling across Brooklyn Bridge in the glorious sunshine to visit DUMBO and pausing as we walked to take in the impressive Manhattan skyline, as well as stopping off at The High Line to draw the surrounding built environment. Applying a neon highlighting technique to their ink drawings, their artwork really popped!   

We certainly made the group cover a lot of ground in an effort to visit as many attractions as possible across our five-day stay. The hard work, enthusiasm and good nature of all the students made this visit thoroughly enjoyable, and probably the most successful Art department residential to date. A massive ‘thank you’ to Mrs Gilbert and Ms Copley for their expert navigation of the Big Apple and all their help on the trip.

Get a glimpse of the group on tour, their neon art and some of the awesome sights in our gallery below. 

Written by Mr Branch, Head of Art