Then and Now

Six Corsham Alumni

Philip Halstead, Harriet Halstead, Dorrie King, Michael Monk, Jackie Pope, and Carole Vincent.
This exhibition brings together work by the six of us, whom at various times between 1960 and 1975, studied at Bath Academy of Art. Looking back, it is easy to spot our younger selves in what we do now. We hope to celebrate the connection between our current practice and that forged fifty, and in some cases, sixty years, ago.

We remember our years at Corsham as halcyon days where we learnt how to ‘think’, to understand the importance of experimentation, of critique and discussion, gaining as much from our peers as from our tutors. There was an encouragement to develop a personal voice and to search for validity in one’s work. Apart from our studies, there were picnics in Capability Brown’s park in Corsham Court, river swims, film nights, and a vibrant students’ union. We were less than 400 students altogether, a close-knit community.

Bath Academy of Art had been established in 1946 in the small rural market town of Corsham under the direction of the educational visionary Clifford Ellis. In partnership with Lord Methuen he created a special environment for the study of art. Modelled on the Bauhaus, Ellis engaged teaching staff who were themselves practising artists and the Principal, Michael Finn, previously of Falmouth School of Art, continued this tradition in 1972….Read more at https://penwithgallery.com/exhibition/50-years-on-alumni-of-bath-academy-of-art-2024/