Brighton MET students exhibit work in Artists Open House

Creative Practice in Art, Design & Communication students tested their abilities creating a modern take on Joseph Cornell’s worlds in boxes.
The exhibition was held at Brighton MET College, in Pelham foyer, in partnership with ‘Artists Open Houses’, a Brighton-based organisation whose mission is to help artists connect with audiences in self-curated, non-traditional art spaces.
It was visited by two of the Artists Open Houses directors, Chris Lord and Judy Stevens, who loved the work and the sustainable ethos behind it.
Maria Bonner, course leader and the person responsible for helping organise the exhibit, said: “The exhibition came about when I was looking to create a professional practice in terms of work experience. It wasn’t as easy as I first thought, because obviously, we need funding, but I managed to get two lovely sponsors, Cass Arts and Kellie Miller Arts, to sponsor the exhibit.
“The idea behind it was to take something that wouldn’t cost a lot of money and was sustainable, because that’s really implicit in everything we do at Brighton MET.
“I chose Cornell as I love his work, and I thought it’d lend itself to that sort of way of working, and I thought rather than creating a wooden box, we’d use shoe boxes.”
More than 80 works of art were on display in the exhibit, which finished last week, and it was open to members of the public.
Felix, one of the first-year students whose work is on display, said: “My project was about overfishing, pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture, and all the damage it does when it washes into the lakes and sea.
“It’s exciting when you see someone stop at your painting because that’s not what we get in the studio, they’ve got no agenda, they just look at it for what it is.”
Poppy, one of the second-year students whose art is also in the exhibit, explained: “It was interesting to look at other artists’ work and gain inspiration from them and put that into my own stuff and put my own spin on it.
“The most interesting topic of his to me was Space, I played with making things different sizes to what they are, and I made it sustainable because I used recycled newspaper to make sure I was helping the planet in my work.”
If you are interested in studying one of our creative courses at Brighton MET, visit https://www.brightonmet.ac.uk/study-with-us/subjects/art-and-design/