Tucked into the rolling chalk and flint-filled fields near Salisbury is an iconic art institution. NewArtCentre was once known simply as Roche Court – Roche Court Sculpture Park is a commercial gallery set in the rolling Wiltshire countryside. Early in February, three Gillingham School students and one teacher wound their way there, travelling through frosted valleys, sparkling in the winter sun, to Roche Court – which, since 1958, has championed young and emerging artists and is now a gallery full of art and exciting sculpture, placed carefully into the Wiltshire parkland.
The Articulation Prize was founded in 2006 by Roche Court’s Educational Trust and later became part of the National Gallery’s education programme. This prestigious public speaking competition invites 16 to 19-year-olds to deliver a ten-minute presentation on a work of art, architecture, or an artefact. For students at Gillingham Sixth Form, it offers a unique opportunity to engage with art, articulate its significance, build confidence, and explore issues that matter to them.
Can’t Help Myself
In January, Gillingham held its internal heats, with seven students – who have been developing their public speaking skills through the Sixth Form’s innovative enrichment programme – delivering presentations on a diverse range of art. Topics ranged from the Nye Bevan Memorial Stones in Wales to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Wrapped Reichstag installation. There were stand-out speeches by Beth R, who explored gender and society through the knitted installation Non-Binary Code by Ben Cuavas, and Adam C, who tied art with history and politics in a moving speech about the sculptures at Soviet Memorial Treptow in Berlin, making listeners think about the way society remembers war and sacrifice, providing a poignant reminder of current events in Ukraine.
Travelling to Roche Court in February, however, was Gillingham School’s winner, Katie B, whose heartfelt, personal response to the installation Can’t Help Myself by Chinese artists Sun Yuang and Peng Yu had moved some of the judges to tears. Can’t Help Myself became a viral hit across social media: a giant robotic arm, more commonly seen in a car manufacturing line, installed inside a large perspex room or box: it writhes and dances as it tries to mop up its leaking hydraulic fluid, coloured red and with the viscosity of blood. Katie used this artwork to boldly tackle topics of authoritarianism and migration, exploitative labour practices and mental health and isolation.
Teacher Lydia Richards aid: ‘As Katie stood in the gallery space at Roche Court, it was wonderful to see a young person feel their own power and speak so passionately and persuasively.
‘She was commended by the adjudicator for her stirring words and “clear passion for social justice” which was met by a spontaneous round of applause by the audience, clearly moved by her performance.
‘As a teacher, it is moments like these which really count. The moments when you see the true purpose of education – not just grades and academic achievement, but helping young people find their voices, so they are ready to be the artist of their own lives, to go out and sculpt and shape the world … perhaps into something better.’
NewArtCentre is open 7 days a week and is free to visit, but they ask you to book ahead if possible: sculpture.uk.com
Gillingham Sixth Form is still accepting applications for this September gillingham-dorset.co.uk or contact the school office to arrange for a visit 01747 822 222.
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