Clarendon Sixth Form College

01 February 2024

Art and design students at Clarendon Sixth Form College exhibit work at local art gallery.

The ‘inspired by…’ exhibition at the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery in Stalybridge, displays work by students to reflect the artwork on show there.

Astley Cheetham Gallery is owned and operated by Tameside Council and hosts a large collection of works by well known artists. Many of the artworks that students used as inspiration were donated to the gallery by it’s founders, the Cheetham family.

Students worked with the curators of the gallery over ten weeks to select a piece to respond to, research its history and context and then experiment with materials and processes to create their final masterpiece.

The gallery is hosting a special viewing of the finished pieces for VIPs, including the Mayor of Tameside Counillor Tafheen Sharif, Jackie Moores, principal at Clarendon Sixth Form College and family members on Saturday 3rd February.

The exhibition will be available for the public to view, alongside the original artworks at the gallery, until Saturday 20th April.

Sinead Combs, art and design student at Clarendon Sixth Form College, whose artwork was based on ‘breakfast at Seaview’ by Gertrud Halsband, said “I really enjoyed getting involved in the project. It allowed me to explore different avenues in my work. It was refreshing to create an image which I intended to be satirical but with an element of social commentary.”

Ellie Merrell, art and design teacher at Clarendon Sixth Form College, said: “It has been an exciting and rewarding experience being able to work so closely with the Astley Cheetham Gallery and having the opportunity to exhibit locally. The students have gained a huge amount of experience and skill during the project and we hope to make it an annual event, which would be fantastic. Well done to them for producing such brilliant work.”

To find out more about creative courses at Clarendon Sixth Form College, visit the college website or call 0161 908 6600.