Our Main Foyer Gallery was once again filled with paintings and sculptures created by our boys for our inspirational Detweiler Competition, this year on the theme ‘Structure’. The Detweiler Competition is an annual event which was introduced to Bedford School by Rob Campbell (Director of Art 1994-2013) in 1997 and is named after the Canadian composer, author and patron of the arts Dr Alan Detweiler, who so generously provided the prizes until his death in 2012.
Initially set up as an Art competition, it now includes English, Music and Drama, encouraging the arts across the whole school and becoming a major event in the school arts calendar. This year, we were delighted to welcome back Old Bedfordian Matthew Orr (75-81) to judge this year’s art entries. It was Matthew’s first visit to the school since leaving in 1981, and he was joined by his brother, Old Bedfordian Roddy Orr (71-75), who assisted him in judging the competition.
The exhibition opened on Friday 28 February, when parents, teachers, Old Bedfordians and members of the Bedford School community were able to immerse themselves in the boys’ depictions of ‘Structure’ and see it through their eyes. Visitors enjoyed drinks and canapés in the Main Foyer before moving up to the Great Hall to watch the drama pieces and listen to the creative writing and music entries.
Lower Sixth Former Andrew Blake who came runner up in the Music competition shared his enthusiasm, saying, “The Detweiler Competition has enabled me to dedicate more time and effort to music composition and, through this, I have developed a deeper interest in this area, giving me confidence to keep composing and sharing my work with others. It has made me really enjoy composing and, as a result, I want to keep pursuing this in the future.”
Fourth Former Ethan Eniola who won the Creative Writing category with his poem The Chain expressed his thoughts on the competition, “The thing I love most about the Detweiler is being given a topic you have to work with. I feel like giving someone participating in the Detweiler the freedom to write about what they want will result in them not thinking as deeply about what they are writing. I felt that being given the topic of structure, I really focused on thinking about the idea.”
Upper Sixth Former Ra’ed Rizwan highlighted the unique aspect of the art category, “What I love most about the Detweiler for the Art category is the exhibition room. Not an exhibition from professional adult artists, but creativity from students. Seeing art classwork put up like museum pieces is very interesting, and makes for a wide variety of different kinds of art. I think this exhibition was the strongest compared to past years – with fascinating colourful works that jump between still-life, abstract figures, natural scenery, and pure shapes and colour. Even after the prize giving, I do enjoy wandering around the space, admiring the intensity of it all.”
Lower Sixth Former Harrison Hughes who was highly commended in the 2D art category, appreciated the diversity of the competition, “I’ve got to say one of the things I love most about Detweiler is the range of work produced. The different ideas, paintings, sculptures and prints on offer really show a variety of work from a bunch of talented artists. Additionally, I enjoy the whole evening from the music, English and Drama departments which offer samples of work which I would not get to see during my usual school day but offers an insight into the type of work my friends and peers are getting up to. Finally, the anticipation of finding out whether you have won something or not is an equally exciting part of the evening.”
Upper Sixth Former Clement Rahwangi Gough, also highly commended for his artwork, summed up the experience, “All the different interpretations of the theme are fascinating.”
The Detweiler Competition continues to be a highlight of the Bedford School arts calendar, showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of our boys. This year’s theme of ‘Structure’ has inspired a diverse range of artistic expressions, making the exhibition a must-see event for the entire school community.
You can read the boys’ entries and see their creativity in this year’s Detweiler Competition’s booklet and browse through the photo gallery below.
