An inspirational cultural trip to Bath with our Art & Textile Enrichment pupils.

On Friday 5^th November, our Art & Textiles enrichment cohort embarked on a trip to Bath for a for a series of museum and gallery visits. On a brisk autumnal afternoon, we made our way through the historic streets of Bath, splitting into small groups with the artists, heading to the Roman Baths and Holburne Museum. On route we were greeted by a striking installation visible from the Pulteney Bridge. Pupils had an opportunity to view and discuss the semi-submerged house on fire in references to the recent devastating floods of Europe. This art installation by Stride Treglown placed in the Pulteney Weir was intended to raise awareness ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).

We began with a visit to the Roman baths to give an opportunity for our pupils to gather first-hand inspiration in response to their current theme, Place. This was an exciting chance to step into a time gone by and immerse ourselves in history and prepare for and gather inspiration for our latest mural project. The Romans held this ancient site as a sacred place dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva because the Romans believed her power lived in the water. It was a place of worship and somewhere to look after both your body and your soul.

To round things off, our artists had an opportunity to explore Rossetti's sensuous portraits with multiple layers of meaning behind his works at the Holburne Museum. This also included Sunil Guota’s body of work connected to LGBTQI+ rights in India. His vivid portraits uncover fellow activists to model and re-enact original works of the Pre-Raphaelite's through Gupta's lens. Richly coloured, textured, and patterned backdrops draw the eye, but the real intrigue concerns real people and their demonstration and act of love.

The Textiles Enrichment group lead by Miss Ling embarked on a fantastic opportunity to visit the Fashion Museum to view the ‘History of Fashion in 100 objects’ exhibition. This show highlighted how clothing has evolved over time and the cycle of fashion trends over time through modification in materials and designs.

Exploring the museum’s collections, we had a chance to make links and gather inspiration for our current themed ‘Water and Denim’ project. Pupils have been upcycling unwanted denim, which is renowned for being one of the worst environmental footprints in fashion. Our aim will be to create new designs and garments building on the concept of water and its fluid nature both as a source of chaotic and calm. We also had time to delve into a vast collection of 350 pairs of boots and shoes within the ‘Shoeporia!’ exhibition. A showcase of vintage styles footwear dating back from the 1690’s up to present day Jimmy Choo’s and Manolo Blahniks icon designs. As we build towards creating our own catwalk show towards the Summer Term the ‘Shoeporia!’ exhibition brought about a vibrant discussion into what pupils would like to develop over the coming months back in the fashion & textiles studio at King’s.

George Cole - Art Teacher

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