The hugely popular West Dean Fine Art Summer Show will be open to the public from Saturday, July 2 – Friday, July 8 2022 between 10am-5pm at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation (near Chichester, West Sussex).  This year’s Summer Show 2022 will showcase original work by emerging artists studying for their Graduate Diploma in Fine Art and MFA degrees. The free exhibition, held in the College's Edward James Studios, will display a diverse range of practices including sculpture, installation, print, painting, video, ceramics, and textiles. A preview event will be held on Friday 1 July, 2022 from 5-7pm and is open to all.  

As Dr. David Stent, Subject Leader & Coordinator (Fine Art) said: “It is wonderful after a two-year break due to the pandemic, that we can welcome visitors from far and wide to our Summer Show again. The MFA (Master of Fine Art) is an advanced two-year programme, offered as Full-Time or blended delivery, with an emphasis on specialist studio practice. The Summer Show is a key element to the students’ journey and along with the fully equipped workshops, expert tutors and lecturers, it attracts students to West Dean. Over the years students have met a wide variety of visiting tutors and artists-in-residence in addition to access to material from the College’s amazing Collection and Archive which undoubtedly inspires their creativity.” 

Jemima Moore, who is studying at West Dean for a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art. Originally living in London and working as an Interior designer, she moved to West Dean after being seduced by the surrounding landscape and buildings. She commented: “The summer show at West Dean is a great opportunity for us students to exhibit our work to the community here in West Sussex. We have wonderful large studios, which we all work together to repaint and prepare as an exhibition space.  We then work individually and collectively to hang the exhibition, ensuring that connections are made between our works. It will great to be able to talk to the people that visit and to see how viewers respond to our work.”  

Chantal New is a first year student studying for an MFA (Masters in Fine Art). She chose to come to West Dean because of its history; location and the amount of time students have with tutors. Before coming to West Dean, she was working as a graphic designer in Canada. She said: “The Summer Show at West Dean is an exciting opportunity to show the work produced by the Fine Art department to the community. A lot of hard work goes into transforming the space and it's really amazing to see it all come together. It's a unique space with rich history and getting to show our work in that context is special. I look forward to the conversations and inspiration that will be sparked throughout the exhibition.” 

She goes on to say: “My work involves a variety of media from drawing to concrete, and an aspect of the Summer Show I really enjoy is the curation and deciding how to exhibit and display my work.” 

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation has an international reputation for excellence and is a full partner of the University of Sussex. For more information on Fine Art study opportunities see www.westdean.ac.uk. 

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