| Art Schools Extension Appeal
The Harrow Art Exhibition at Christie's in 2006 gave us a glimpse of the wealth of artists that the School has produced in nearly 400 hundred years of educating young men. Today the Art department at Harrow is stronger than ever; more popular, better resourced and more respected.
The facts speak for themselves- The School has grown to number 805 pupils, and 369 of these are currently studying art
- Other boys use the Art Schools facilities to do art in their spare time
- 100% of Harrow's A-level artists in 2005 achieved an A or B grade
- The scale of work has developed so that today boys produce paintings as big as doors, or sculptures that dwarf the studio
- The Art Schools are open seven days a week
- Art has moved beyond painting and drawing to include printing, photography and sculpture
- 38 boys are doing sculpture as an exam subject
- 5 boys on average each year go on to study art after A-level
- Over 100 Old Harrovians are currently earning a living through art, either as a professional artist or in the art world in some capacity
An unexpected force in the art world"Every artist was first an amateur." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) |
The Christie's Exhibition revealed a surprising facet of Harrow's heritage. The School has bred as many professional artists and photographers as it has sportsmen, and this is a tradition that the School very much wants to build upon.
The problem for Art at Harrow
All this has been achieved in facilities that were built for a much smaller School in which art played a much less important rôle. The Art department has been in the same building since 1896.
- Pupils do not have the space to work properly.
- Work-in-progress cannot be left out in the studio because there is not enough space and exam pieces have to be exhibited in teaching space during the Summer term for marking, forcing teaching to take place outside the Art Schools in ordinary classrooms.
- There is limited proper storage, so work gets damaged or lost.
- There are only three sinks, so boys cannot clear up quickly and effectively at the end of a class or session.
- We lack facilities that other schools have, such as a decent art library.
- Photography and sculpture occupy inadequate, temporary accommodation a long way from the Art Schools.
The solution
In 2007 the Modern Languages department moved out of the Leaf Schools into the new Modern Languages building on Football Lane. The Leaf Schools is next door to the Art Schools, and its vacation by the modern linguists provides the School with a perfect opportunity to improve facilities for Harrovian artists.
The plan was to convert and modernise the Leaf Schools to provide space for the Art department, and for a second phase of development to build an extension to the Leaf Schools. The extension will provide a large area with natural light for painting, with a library and gallery viewing area, where exam pieces can be shown for marking and other exhibitions can be staged without impinging on teaching areas.
Progress so far
Phase One, converting the Leaf Schools for the teaching of art, was completed in 2007 and the new Leaf Gallery hosts regular exhibitions by Harrovian and visiting artists. The second phase of the project, involving the reconstruction of the first floor of the Leaf Schools and an extension to the building, is currently being planned and a Planning Application will be submitted in early summer 2008.
The cost of the solution"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." - Sir Winston Churchill |
Phase One, now completed, cost around £500,000. To complete the fantastic new extension, the School needs to raise another £2 million.
If you would like to help fund the Art Schools development, please contact the Harrow Development Trust on 020 8872 8500 or via email on devtrust@harrowschool.org.uk.
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