Bryanston returned to London with its Art & Design showcase, RE-IMAGINE 2025, transforming the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery from Sunday 12 to Saturday 18 October into a celebration of creativity. The exhibition brought together outstanding work from across the Bryanston family, Old Bryanstonians (OBs), current pupils, and staff, highlighting imagination in all its forms.
Visitors moved through a space of paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, and design, while artists created new work live throughout the week. Bryanston staff Doug Knight, Helen Dean, Amanda Mitchard and Tim Auty worked in situ, alongside Gary Cedeira, who developed a striking landscape over the course of the exhibition. OB Sandy Ostroumoff (P ’21) also created live in the gallery, joined by pupils Alfie G and Jalila B-M, whose evolving series drew a steady audience.
A special highlight saw OB Jack Ford (C ’07) and pupil Alfie G complete a multi-generational portrait of OB Sarah Bachra (G ’84), her daughter OB Callie Coles (Ht ’04), and grandson Jesse, now a Bryanston pupil. The paintings are an intimate creative portrayal of a Bryanston lineage.
Mid-week, a creative-networking lunch invited guests to pick up a brush and contribute to a collaborative artwork led by Helen Dean and Doug Knight. Two evening receptions welcomed OBs, parents, governors, exhibiting artists, and friends of the school to mingle, tour the gallery, and acquire works, with a percentage of proceeds supporting the Bryanston Arts Bursary Fund.
The breadth of Bryanston’s creative community was on full display. Works by OBs including Lucian Freud (P ’40), Howard Hodgkin (P ’48), Jasper Morrison (Sh ’78), Annabel Eyres (Ht ’83), Francesca Lowe (G ’97) and Sophie Smorczewski (G ’17) sat alongside contemporary staff and pupil pieces.
“At the heart of RE-IMAGINE 2025 is the power of imagination – how ideas are sparked, explored, and realised,” said the curators. “Bryanston’s community includes acclaimed artists and designers as well as makers who create for the joy of expression, and the exhibition celebrated them all.”
On Wednesday 15 October, designer Sebastian Conran (SA ’74) headlined a sold-out Spotlight event, reflecting on a career spanning product and brand development and roles across industry, government, and academia. He spoke candidly about how Bryanston nurtured the creativity and confidence that propelled his ambition, and about his ongoing contribution as a member of Bryanston’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) Advisory Board. “I got a huge amount from being a part of the Bryanston community. My father and I really loved it there. And I don’t think we would have had such spiritually enriched lives if we had gone anywhere else.”
On Thursday, pupils from Bryanston and Bryanston Prep toured the exhibition. Prep pupils sketched their favourite works, adding a fresh layer of interpretation to the gallery and demonstrating the school’s commitment to creative learning from the earliest years.
The week concluded in style with the London Music Concert at Holy Trinity, Sloane Square, a show-stopping finale that echoed the exhibition’s energy.
Doug Knight, Head of Art, said RE-IMAGINE 2025 “perfectly reflected Bryanston – colourful, diverse, and each work with a unique voice,” adding: “Seeing pupils across generations exchange ideas about their practice was a joy and I look forward to our next exhibition that will take place during Bryanston Centenary celebrations in 2027/2028.”
Categories: Bryanston School School News 
