Students complete Glyndebourne residency

For six years the University of Brighton has collaborated with Glyndebourne who offer an artist residency to Art and Design PGCE students. The selected students are granted exclusive access to Glyndebourne – its performances, grounds, staff and rehearsal rooms – and are invited to create an artistic response to their experiences.

The residency gives students a chance to create work in their own right as an artist, free from expectations of output, and to take the knowledge and confidence gained into their teaching career.

The 2022 Teaching Artists Natasha, Sam Ford and Elena, who have just graduated, reflect on their residency experience and how it will help their teaching careers:

Natasha

“The residency programme at Glyndebourne has allowed me to stretch my practice through new techniques and concepts. My Glyndebourne experience has reignited past interests and allowed me to explore new artistic processes which I plan to continue experimenting with.

“Witnessing the collaboration between departments during rehearsals, performances and backstage interactions highlighted the importance of sharing ideas and experiences. I plan to carry this forward into my teaching practice where I hoe to unite art, technology, music, dance ad drama departments to open students’ eyes to the magical world of opera.”

Sam

“The residency has firstly given me a love for opera. Experiencing the community of Glyndebourne alongside the festival of world-class productions has highlighted to me the immense power of art.

“During the residency I have experienced with different media from pin-hole photography to film, from chemigrams to painting. It has been great to rediscover the significance of drawling as a means to explore and think visually.

“All of this work has led to new skills and ideas.”

Elena

“The challenge of responding both to the operas and to Glyndebourne as an institution has been educational and rewarding for me. It has made me explore additional aspects connected to performance, and suggested new starting points when creating artwork such as location and set design.

“The residency has re-engaged me with consistent artistic practice, whereby I am planning and making artwork as a cohesive series, rather than one off pieces.

“Glyndebourne has perfectly inspired me into a new rhythm and way of creative working which I intend to continue alongside my new job as an art teacher.”

We wish Natasha, Sam and Elena all the best with their teaching careers.

Find out more about our postgraduate routes into teaching.

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