Oakham’s Artist in Residence and Teacher of Art, Jessica Gilbert, curated a ‘Life in Lockdown’ exhibition to acknowledge and document the unique summer term that pupils and staff encountered.
“The exhibition was a way of documenting the surreal moment in which our lives changed,” explains Miss Gilbert. “We put an ‘open call’ out to all pupils and staff to submit work for display. We wanted to bring together people’s encounter of lockdown, to provide a space for them to express their experience, good or bad.”
The community was encouraged to think about and express their experience of lockdown, as well as their hopes and fears, along with their thoughts on how they want the world to change as a result of Coronavirus. There were a high number of submissions from across all areas of the School community and the resulting exhibition was as varied as people’s experience of lockdown.
“Many people turned to art and photography,” says Miss Gilbert, “So it’s lovely to be able to provide an outlet for this work. “It was also a great opportunity for all of the visitors to the exhibition to be able to connect with artwork and photography because they too have experienced something similar.”
Oakham’s talented Art department also submitted their work. Teacher of Art, Cathy Stephenson started making spoons, so her piece in the exhibition reflects how she spent her time, whilst not teaching online. Sculpture teacher, Vlad Pamihov, showcased some of his work that he created after learning a new technique; how to use scrap metal materials to create animals and abstract sculptures.
