Over the Easter holiday, a group of art and photography pupils travelled to Venice, Italy. Year 12 art pupil L Fiddy, and Year 13 photography pupil Seren Duggan were amongst those on the trip. They write the following:
During the Easter holiday, 15 art and photography pupils went on a 4-day trip to Venice. On day one, our trip began with a 5.00pm flight from Terminal 5 at Heathrow. After a quick dinner at the airport, we faced a brief moment of panic as Mr Shaw got distracted shopping for sunglasses, while B Redston and F Dix were on a mission to stock up on snacks. This resulted in a very close call; however, we made it onto the flight. Once onboard, we were treated to a stunning sunset from above the clouds which inspired several photographers to get their cameras out while the artists began sketching the scenery. We then arrived in Venice at around 8.30pm and made our way to the hotel for an early night, ready for the days ahead.
Our first full day began with an early morning and a bus ride into the city centre. Both artists and photographers split off to explore the alleyways, river canals, and streets. We then visited a traditional venetian mask-making studio where we were introduced to the history behind the masks before everyone had the opportunity to design and paint their own one. This was an incredible amount of fun as everyone’s creativity was shown throughout these designs and we could definitely tell which ones were designed by artists and photographers!
After some free time, we explored Dorsoduro and enjoyed pizza for lunch. In the afternoon, we walked to the Peggy Guggenheim Art Gallery, where artists were especially inspired by works from Picasso, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Dali, and Warhol. After an intense few hours of artwork appreciation, many of us took a well-deserved power nap.
Later that day, we made our way back to San Marco and went up the famous Bell Tower, which stands at 98 metres tall and offers breathtaking views of Venice. We spent a few minutes overlooking the whole city before finishing the day with pizza (again!) for dinner and heading back to the hotel to rest.
We had another early start and skipped breakfast in favour of a quick trip to the local supermarket for snacks. We then took high-speed boat taxis to the island of Murano, which is famously known for its glass making.
At the glass factory, we watched an incredible live demonstration where a skilled craftsman transformed a simple fish sculpture into a dolphin using molten glass. After this experience, we visited the Murano Glass Museum and learned about the evolution of glass making through the ages.
Then from Murano, we took a ferry to Burano, known for its vibrant colourful houses and historical lacework. This was a peaceful highlight of the trip as the artists settled down and painted the views in front of them with watercolours and sketching whilst the photographers explored more of the area, capturing the vivid colours of the island. When evening came, we returned to central Venice and ended the day with dinner at the Hard Rock Café.
On our final day, we packed our bags and headed back into the heart of Venice for a final few hours of sightseeing and shopping. Some students had the chance to enjoy a traditional gondola experience through the canals, while others explored the shops for souvenirs - most of us came back with beautiful Murano glass jewellery.
This was a fantastic end to a memorable trip and - with huge thanks to Miss Jiggens, Miss Platt and Mr Shaw – we made our way to the airport ready to fly back home.
