In the rhythm of the school week, they are teachers that inspire, guide, question and build the next generation of artists at St Edward’s School. In their own time, these eight artists practice in varied mediums, continuing to fulfil their calling as makers, while bringing fresh energy and life to their teaching.
What does it mean to be a teacher and an maker? The exhibition Circa 500 is composed of eight artists who form part of the staff team at the School’s Art Department. This exhibition turns their practice inward, revealing the breadth of disciplines that animate their department: ceramics, sculpture, textiles, painting, print, photography, graphics, and film.
What connects them is not a single medium but a shared curiosity. Clay and thread, paint and colour, lens and screen, ink and object each hold their own language. Together they create a conversation about process, experiment, and the shifting roles they inhabit as educators and artists.
The works on display emerge from the overlap of classroom and studio, from the restless space between guiding others and pursuing individual investigations.
Lorraine Turley, a painter and former lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art now leads the A-Level Art course at St Edward’s. She says, ‘The energy and curiosity in the department is amazing, and that comes from the great relationship we have with the pupils and the team we have. The pupils know we make art too and there is a dialogue there. We inspire each other and the department feels more like an Art School, or a foundation course as a result.’
In recent years pupils from St Edward’s have gone on to study at some exceptional Art schools such as Central St Martins, Edinburgh College of Art, Glasgow School of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, and the Universities of Leeds and Manchester.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- Circa 500 is on at The North Wall from 11th-27th March 2026. The exhibition is free to enter. From 5-7pm on Thursday 12th March, there will be drinks to celebrate the opening.
- The eight artists are Camilla Austin, Charlotte Churchman, Toby Duncan, Adam Hahn, Bethany Marett, Ethan Powell, Lorraine Turley and Bryony Wingfield Digby.
- Edward’s is a co-educational boarding and day school set in 100 acres in North Oxford. The school educates just over 800 boys and girls aged 13–18, preparing them for entry into the world’s best universities, and to lead happy, fulfilling and socially responsible adult lives. Ambition, kindness and a strong sense of togetherness characterise ‘Teddies’, as the school is known to its community. The school offers a wide range of co-curricular activities in sport, music, drama, the arts, outdoor pursuits, and community volunteering.
- For further information, interviews and images from the exhibition, please contact Communications Manager, Amy Hill on 07739 844366 / hilla@stedwardsoxford.org
Learn more about the School: www.stedwardsoxford.org
Categories: St Edward’s Oxford
