The Old Diocesan Issue 13 - Magazine - Page 72
ART
WATCH THIS SPACE
Imagining a dedicated Bishops art exhibition centre
B
ishops’ focus on art as
a subject has long set it
apart from most South
African schools. ODs of
a certain age will have
fond memories of the Samuel
Butler Art Centre, opened in 1986
and run under the guidance of
Peter Hyslop himself for many
years. In 2003, that building was
transformed into Mallett House,
at which point the school’s art
headquarters were moved to a
new space, the Simpson Centre,
situated between the Memorial
Chapel and the Frank Reid cricket
field. Today, it remains the vibrant
creative hub of the school, with
Husain Essop as Head of Visual
Art since 2021.
So Bishops has always had
wonderful space for art creation
– but what about art display?
In his opening speech at the
“Significance of Place” exhibition,
Michael King touched on a major
objective shared by Peter, Michael
Beckurts and Tom Cartwright
in staging the exhibition: that it
might initiate a discussion about
a permanent, custom-designed
gallery space to enable more
frequent exhibitions of this nature.
According to Peter, “Our aim is
to encourage other OD artists to
exhibit at the College, to network
with each other, and to engage
with and inspire the current
Bishops boys, particularly those
who are interested in pursuing
careers in visual arts and design.”
Prior to this latest event, Peter
oversaw two exhibitions of art
68 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
by ODs in recent years – the
first held at The Mitre in 2021,
the second in the new Ubuntu
Learning Centre in 2024.
Unfortunately, neither space is
optimised for exhibitions of this
nature. As was the case with the
2021 event, this year’s “Significance
of Place” was displayed in The
Mitre’s downstairs area, primarily
in what is now the Bishops 175
Exhibition Centre – but this area
has a specific function and its own
permanent displays. Temporary
art exhibitions must be set up
using a portable display system
– and the current one is not up to
scratch. So the three artists have
two proposals: one short-term,
one longer-term.
The former provides a solution
to the inherent weakness of The
Mitre as a venue: the centre has
existing cabinets and boards that
cannot be moved. While the school
does have meshed display screens,
which are used for exhibitions of
the boys’ artwork, they are not
suitable for professional-quality
events. Upgraded display screens
would thus significantly enhance
future art exhibitions.
Tom recently took part in a
Strauss & Co exhibition at the
Stellenbosch Woordfees, where
two of his large oil paintings were
presented to great effect on white
modular boards. As a solution for
Bishops, Michael envisions similar
boards for temporary exhibitions
at The Mitre and elsewhere – see
images opposite (bottom).
In the long term, however, the
three artists would like to see the
building of a permanent gallery
space on campus, where artwork
by OD artists and Bishops boys
could be displayed throughout
the year. This would not simply
be a matter of raising funds, as
space is an increasingly rare
commodity at Bishops. There
are, however, options, including
the concept of micro-galleries
that could be relocated around
the grounds as appropriate. See
Michael’s presentation image
opposite (top) to gain a sense of
how these might work. A realistic
alternative may be to attach a
gallery to an existing building
renovation project.
Whatever the short- and longterm solutions may prove to be,
the conversation has begun. If
you are an interested Bishops
art enthusiast and would like
to be involved, please reach
out to Michael, Tom or Peter,
or to Andy Wood at the ODU.
“Our aim is to encourage OD artists to exhibit
at the College, to network with each other, and to
engage with and inspire the current Bishops boys,
particularly those who are interested in pursuing
careers in visual arts and design.” – Peter Hyslop
