OCASA Study Days

I've decided to pursue further learning by attending relevant study days put on by the OCA.  I intended to go to the Hayward Gallery in December last year but the state of the South West Railways put paid to that idea.

The new season's diary seems very interesting and I have put my name down for a day's session in Thatcham, Berks, where artist Fiona Yaron-Field has agreed to give a talk to OCA students on 8 February. Fiona is a practising artist who has been using photography for over 25 years; her practice centres around people, so this study visit will be particularly pertinent with those with an interest in portraiture. Fiona was selected for the 2013 Taylor Wessing exhibition and author of ‘Up Close, a Mother’s View‘ (Bunker Hill Publishing, 2008), in which she describes, through image and text, her relationship with her daughter Ophir who has Down’s Syndrome.

There is also a visit to the Saatchi Gallery in London on Friday,  21st February to the Body Language exhibition.  This study visit to London’s Saatchi Gallery exhibition Body Language surveys the figurative work of 20 contemporary artists. This engagement with the human form is ever present through the work of artists practising today through painting, photography and sculpture.
During the visit there will be a short talk by one of the gallery staff to gain a further insight into the work and motives of some of the artists.
Coinciding with Body Language is another Saatchi collection exhibition - New Order 2. This is the second instalment of this section of this collection of emerging and early career artists. The study visit will be led by Sarah West.

Both days sound very interesting and are achievable from Dorset so I'm looking forward to meeting up with fellow students and gaining more insight into other artists' work.