Students from Burton & South Derbyshire College have been invited to stage an exhibition of their work in the new gallery at Sharpe’s Pottery Museum in March. It will coincide with the arrival in Swadlincote of the 2020VISION roadshow, which features some of the finest wildlife and nature photographers in the country.
Sharpe’s Pottery Museum in Swadlincote (Photo credit: InBurton)
The students’ work will reflect South Derbyshire’s motto: ‘The Earth Our Wealth’, and complements the theme of the 2020VISION exhibition, which is to celebrate large-scale conservation and regeneration projects that benefit wildlife and people.
Chris Beech, Programme Area Manager for Visual Arts at the college, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for the students, and a perfect way to display their work alongside top professional wildlife and landscape photographers. We will be exploring images of The National Forest though its historic amalgam of agriculture, heavy industry, mining and clay works to the woodland that shapes the landscape today. It is a stunning transformation, and the students’ work will bring an extra dimension to the messages inherent in the 2020VISION project.”
Sophie Churchill, Chief Executive, National Forest Company, added: “The National Forest is very proud of the talents of its young people. We’ve had great design work from students for our annual report in the past and are always delighted when established photographers and artists can be reminded of the next generation snapping at their heels!”
2020VISION sent 20 of the UK’s top wildlife photographers to 20 locations – including The National Forest – over 20 months to capture images of inspirational landscapes that show the value of restoring our most important but often fragmented natural habitats.
The National Forest was selected as an outstanding and very successful example of regeneration on a landscape scale, involving local communities and wider national partnerships.
The 2020VISION roadshow features a street gallery exhibition displaying more than 100 outstanding images. As well as The National Forest, other locations represented include the Kinder Scout Restoration project, Wild Ennerdale in the Lake District, Rutland Water Habitats and the restoration of the Cambridgeshire and East Anglian Fens.
See the students’ work in the new gallery at Sharpe’s Pottery Museum from 18 March to 29 April. The 2020VISION exhibition is on display in The Delph from 18 March – 7 April; it then transfers to Calke Abbey at Ticknall from 10 – 29 April. This is the first time the exhibition will be seen in England.
