The combination of experiencing stimulating exhibitions at Chippenham Museum, or within our Mount House Gallery, along with expressive painting workshops and talks by a much-admired visiting artist, and our inventive printmaker Artist-in-Residence working with recyclable materials, ensured an exciting and successful 2026 Visual Arts Festival at Marlborough College.
During the second afternoon of our Festival, pupils enjoyed a memorable visit to Chippenham Museum. Artist Sarah Purvey and Alan Fuller, the museum’s Collections and Exhibitions Officer, provided an excellent tour of their latest exhibition by contemporary artists who involve ceramics within their practice. Alan and Sarah co-curated Subversive Forms: Revolutionary Approaches to Clay, which hosted 21 artists’ works, and prompted much discussion and interest in their diverse approaches, choices of process, subjects and the resulting outstanding selection of artworks. Alan also kindly included an absorbing introduction to the permanent art collection at Chippenham Museum.
‘I had an insightful conversation with Alan Fuller about the curation of this exhibition, which helped me consider ideas for a future exhibition I am planning to curate’. Daisy M
‘Artist Sarah Purvey opened my eyes to the vast array of ceramic techniques which I can take forward in my A level coursework’. Rosie L
Within the Mount House Gallery, a considered selection of early paintings, drawings and mixed media works created by Stanley Jones were displayed for our appreciation. Primarily focusing on Stanley’s early years, his interest in social history is illustrated within powerful industrial landscapes, which juxtapose with sublime abstracted seascapes inspired by his time working within the art colony of St Ives, Cornwall. Visiting groups were particularly engaged by the works Stanley crafted during his Slade School of Art years. It is intriguing that even within this richly experimental collection of early works our pupils could see links to the highly regarded art Stanley Jones later created as a master printmaker and founder of the renowned Curwen Studios within his long and rewarding career in the arts.
‘It was interesting being able to see the evolution of this important artist’s artistry, particularly from these early career works’. Rosie L
It has been a pleasure to have charismatic and highly skilled artist Alex Norman-Walker re-visit the Art School this year, for a day of creative talks and workshops. During the morning, Alex attended several classes to share her inspirations, personal themes, and discuss her current working processes. During group discussions, pupils mentioned appreciating learning of Alex’s artistic journey to date. For our afternoon workshop, Alex gave an insightful oil painting demonstration to a large group of Sixth Form A level Fine Art pupils, followed by an engaging painting workshop. Alex provided a supportive atmosphere, alongside one-to-one advice regarding how to best utilise her fluid and expressive approach when capturing oil paint portraits and obscure narratives on small sections of smooth perspex.
‘A valuable opportunity to explore a different, looser technique within which to further develop and visualise portraiture’. Daisy M
To close our 2026 Visual Arts Festival, our current Artist-in-Residence, Beth Pickett, organised an investigative workshop, focusing on crafting relief and intaglio printing surfaces using recycled tetra-pak drinks containers. We were so pleased to invite Beth to bring her passion for experimenting with different printing techniques to our Festival, which also aptly harmonised with the work and ethos of our Mount House Gallery exhibiting artist and master printmaker Stanley Jones. Throughout this busy, inventive workshop, attending pupils and staff took time to carve, cut scrape and inscribe designs onto their own piece of smooth re-purposed drinks packaging. A productive hour of printing their etched card surfaces using our intaglio press ensued. Discussions reflected upon this creative session and the appreciation for having the opportunity to make the most of old waste materials, a sustainable and environmentally considerate process.
Thank you to: Beth Pickett and Alex Norman-Walker for their lively and inspirational workshops; Edward Twohig for curating the extensive Stanley Jones exhibition and the team at Chippenham Museum for their invaluable time given to discussing their exceptional collection of works to our visiting group of pupils.
Jonathan Parnham
Head of Visual Arts Promotion
