Northampton railway station provides 'perfect platform' for college art students

Artwork produced by students from Northampton College is expected to be seen by thousands of train travellers thanks to a new public display at the Northampton railway station.

With the college unable to hold its annual art exhibition due to the coronavirus pandemic, students have finally been able to see their work go on show thanks to a new partnership with London Northwestern Railway.

More than 40 pieces of work across all areas of the art curriculum will be on display on the overbridge at the train station showcasing painting, photography, sculpture, fashion, digital design and millinery.

Curriculum manager of arts, design and photography at Northampton College, Sophie Pennington, said: “The station gallery is a chance to celebrate the fantastic artwork our students have produced over the past 12 months, there’s a real eclectic mix and it was so hard to narrow it down, it was a bit like judging the Countryfile calendar!

“I’m so proud of their achievements, they have done an amazing job with some very high-quality work produced during a particularly difficult period, with the students often working on their own from home because of the various periods of lockdown.”

The pop-up gallery helps to brighten up one of the busiest public areas of the station and will become a permanent addition with artwork changed regularly and hung from specially constructed supports. The college display will be on show until March next year.

Duty operations manager at London Northwestern Railway, David Flanagan, said: “Working with the local community here in Northampton is extremely important to us and we love the idea of showcasing the talents of the students of the town whose studies have been so severely disrupted over the last 18 months.

“We look forward to strengthening those relationships further in the months to come and it’s a great opportunity for students to get their work seen by hundreds of thousands of people, prompting conversations and inspiring others.”

For more information on art, design and photography courses available at Northampton College, visit https://www.northamptoncollege.ac.uk/courses