First year student, Ava Berriman recently represented the College in the regional heats of the 2020 ARTiculation Prize, which was held at The Lightbox Gallery in Woking.  This national competition is organised by the Roche Court Educational Trust who work with teachers, young people and specialist groups to develop confidence and skills by looking, thinking and speaking about art. 

The ARTiculation Prize takes place in eight regions in England and students who compete are required to deliver a ten minute presentation to an audience about a work of art, architecture or an artefact.  Adjudicators are then asked to assess each presentation as a whole, looking at content, structure, delivery and the speaker’s original approach and unique potential.  The adjudicator for this round was Jennifer Scott who is the Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery in London.

Ava’s presentation was on the work of Joana Vasconcelos, who is a Portuguese artist known for their large-scale installations.  Ava described her experience of seeing Joana’s work for the first time and the impact it had on her.  Jennifer Scott praised Ava for her choice of work and how she had included sound and visuals in her presentation.  Despite this, unfortunately Ava was not selected to go through to the Grand Final, which will take place at Clare College, Cambridge.

Ava commented, “I thought that the experience was really beneficial in terms of building my confidence - I felt like my public speaking skills improved even in the small amount of time I presented my talk!.  I've become friends with the contestant who made it through to the final in London, which is really nice as I'll be able see how she progresses in the competition.  I'd recommend the ARTiculation Prize to anyone who loves art and wants a new experience.  This competition is guaranteed to make you even more interested in art and will develop your confidence in talking to people, a vital skill that we all need and will use.”

Well done Ava!