A group of fine art students were recently lucky enough to meet three practicing fine artists alongside a gallery curator, James Stewart, from Zimmer Stewart gallery. Established in 2003 by James Stewart and John Zimmer, the Zimmer Stewart Gallery shows emerging and established contemporary artists through a programme of 6-8 exhibitions each year. The artists ran a 2 hour seminar for the students, talking about a wide range of diverse subjects including their careers and their experiences in the industry. They discussed the importance of creative thinking, dealing with commissions, how key abstract art has been to their working practice and gave the students portfolio advice. In addition to this eight of the students had their work selected to appear in the Hub at Farnborough Business Park alongside the professional artists, in an amazing space.

Paul Ayres, Curriculum Manager for fine art said "It was tremendous seeing the students work alongside professional artists. The Hub is a great space to exhibit in, and the seminar was thoughtful, engaging and helped to gain an insight into the real world of a practicing artist."

First year fine art student Matt Berry said, “I had an excellent time meeting some real world artists. Their advice will help me going into my higher education. It was also a delight to have my work appreciated in a gallery setting.”  

First year fine art student Izzy Sershall-Brown commented, “The talk gave me a real insight into not only life as an artist, but the importance of a foundation diploma. It was extremely interesting to learn how three working artists approach their subject matter and mediums in different ways, with such passion and excitement."