Northamptonshire Tudor hall to exhibit postgrad artwork

Two Masters students will be exhibiting new artwork at historic Lamport Hall this month.

Emma Richardson and Natasha Toms – who are both enrolled on the MA in Fine Arts – were recipients of Lamport Hall Preservation Trust bursaries, and the pieces on display at ‘Ostendoishow’ make direct references to items in the Tudor hall’s collection.

Emma’s work is entitled Gift Shop, and is based on photographic imagery gathered on an ‘anti-grand tour’ that took her to some of the UK’s most deprived coastal towns.

Whilom by Natasha, is a digital piece composed of parts of paintings of the first two wives of Sir Edmund Isham, whose family owned and lived on the Northamptonshire estate from the sixteenth century until 1976.

This pair of students are the first recipients of this new annual bursary initiative, a collaborative scheme devised by the Lamport Hall Preservation Trust and the Fine Art department at University of Northampton.

According to Dr Andrew Hewitt, Associate Professor of Fine Art in the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, the bursaries enable MA Fine Art students to have the opportunity to apply for generous funds to support their practice.

“Students are invited to propose projects that respond to Lamport Hall; for example, its collection and archives, its social history as the seat of the Isham family and the English country house as a heritage context.

“By bringing contemporary art to the context of Lamport Hall, the artists provide opportunities for new interpretations of the history of the hall and its collections. This in turn evokes new ways in which visitors can engage and understand the history of the family, the hall, and its location.

“This project mirrors the working methods used by many professional contemporary artists and provides the students with the opportunity to work in the context of an existing collection that is accessible to the public.”

Before his death in 1976, Sir Gyles Isham set up the Lamport Hall Preservation Trust, in part to promote aesthetic and historic education.

Mr George Drye, Executive Director of the Trust, said: ”We are very pleased to try and do this within the region and are particularly pleased with our new relationship with the University of Northampton, supporting the art department with bursaries.

“The standard of work is high, as one would expect from postgraduates and I’m sure the show will be fascinating. It is particularly pleasing to think that these bursaries should help to improve the career opportunities of the recipients.”

‘Ostendoishow’ Wednesday 23rd to Monday 28th August 2017 2:00pm to 5:00pm (closed Friday 25th and Saturday 26th August). The exhibition also coincides with the Antique and Vintage Fair at Lamport Hall on August Bank Holiday Weekend on 27th to 28th August 2017.

Address:
Lamport Hall Lamport, Northamptonshire NN6 9HD (NN6 9EZ for satnav)

*Please note that to see the exhibition, visitors are required to pay the admission fee to Lamport Hall.