Friends of Chartres celebrate artwork at the University
AN ANNUAL exhibition celebrating the Friends of Chartres Schools Art Challenge has been hosted at the University of Chichester.
The challenge has become an annual feature of the University department of Fine Art calendar and will be on view until Saturday 23 June. The exhibition of the artwork is currently being exhibited in the artOne building on Chichester campus, and runs alongside selected works from the undergraduate degree.
Steve McDade, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University, said: “The Friends of Chartres Schools Art Challenge provides a terrific opportunity for Fine Art at the University to extend its relationships within the community of the city and its environs in extending the provision of art education within the area. The School Art Challenge provides valuable interaction between staff, students and pupils who come together to share ideas and making skills in the run up to the exhibition.”
This was the ninth exhibition of The Friends of Chartres Schools Art Challenge and the third hosted by the University, having taken over from Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery in 2015-16. The opening evening and the awards ceremony was held in the Chapel of the Ascension on Saturday 16 June.
The two events brought in many visitors to share the celebratory awards and the artwork the pupils had created. It brought together pupils, staff, and visitors with special guests the Mayor of Chichester Martin Bell, the Deputy Mayor of Chartres Patrick Geroudet, and Councillor Alain Malot, who flew from Paris to be present at the ceremonies.
Certificates were given to all participating schools and awards were handed to exhibits which the judges considered had responded most creatively and visually to this year’s theme of gardens. The best overall exhibit was awarded to Petworth Primary School and the visitors prize, voted for by those attending the opening of the exhibition, went to Lavant Primary School. The school winning the prestigious Coup de Coeur trophy was Fishbourne Primary.
To find out more about the department of Fine Art at the University of Chichester go to www.chi.ac.uk/fineart. Alternative for more about the Friends of Chartres Schools Art Challenge visit www.friendsofchartres.org.uk/junior-section/school-art-challenge.
Photo caption: Schools receiving awards presented by Ray Brown, committee member of the Friends of Chartres, and Steve McDade (right) representing Fine Art at the University of Chichester.
