Students studying a range of Art and Design courses recently returned from a 3 night stay in London. Students visited a range of major exhibitions at a variety of galleries including Anish Kapoor at the Royal Academy, Pop Life at Tate Modern and Turner and the Masters at Tate Britain. The group were given a guided tour of the Courtauld Gallery providing behind the scenes insights and historical information on Artists such as Frank Auerbach and a range of the French Impressionists. The visit to the National Gallery allowed A2 Art students the chance to view recently studied Impressionist work first hand which will benefit their class work on return. The V&A provided a valuable resource for Textiles students and the Photography students made good use of their time by visiting appropriate private galleries and the National Portrait Gallery. As well as the scheduled galleries students visited the Christmas Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park and ate a two course meal together at Planet Hollywood. By allowing students to experience important artwork first hand, this successful visit also gave them an opportunity to broaden their cultural understanding. These experiences will filter into their work as we move through the academic year. We would like to thank the students for their overall conduct and appreciation of the work and the part they played in ensuring that the trip was both informative and enjoyable.

In October the Art department were invited to put up student artwork in an office space called Warren Bruce Court in Trafford Park. This is where the Manchester Chamber of Commerce meet. We have exhibited work throughout the building; this includes conference rooms, meeting rooms, corridors and the in-house bistro.