Art at DLD
At DLD we believe education is about more than grades – it is about nurturing new insights and creativity in the world. At the forefront of DLD’s Art and Design Department is the ever-expanding expanse of digital applications. Our success as a department has been providing a holistic and inclusive learning environment, which embraces technology: “The UK’s future success will be built at the nexus of artistic and cultural creativity and our technical brilliance (Culture is Digital, UK Government). At DLD College London, creativity and technology is central to our success. The creative arts is both part of DLD College London’s historical legacy and our current success.
Provision
The Art and Design department is a leading area within the college teaching over 100 local and international students each year in Year 9, Years 10 & 11 GCSE, two-year A Level courses in Art & Design, Photography and Graphic Communication, plus International Foundation Courses in Art & Design and Fashion Design.
The multi-faceted nature of Art allows our students to explore an endless array of processes such as drawing, painting, printmaking, photographic imagery, textiles, mixed media, digital applications, 3D construction, CGI, Animation, Installation and Film Based Work. It is a fascinating and rewarding subject that allows our students to use their imagination and creativity, whilst acquiring a range of skills, abilities and directions as they engage with the world in a visual and tactile way.
The philosophy of the Department is to promote creativity as a vital part of society and we make an important contribution to the character of the school with students’ artwork displayed throughout it. Students also regularly design posters, website headers, and seasonal cards for school use. Important recent art displays have included Great Women Artists to celebrate International Women’s Day, Great Jewish Artists for Holocaust Memorial Day, Pride Display for LGBTQQIP2SAA Pride, and Black Lives Matter-Black Art Matters, celebrating Black History Month. Collaborations take place between other departments, including Drama, to provide backdrops and props, and Science, assisting with projects combining art and science-based projects. The annual End of Year Arts Exhibition showcases and celebrates the quality and range of work produced by our talented students and contributes to the quality of the learning environment within the school.
Teaching & Learning
Our Art and Design staff are experienced practitioners with creative expertise and the best educational experience graduating from the UK’s leading Universities and Art colleges. As artists and practitioners we draw on our own experience as creative practitioners to provide a learning process that delivers art practice and teaching and learning. We seek to pass on the skills and knowledge intrinsic to our artistic practice whilst delivering differentiation in teaching. The Art Department aims to develop the technical and creative abilities of all students through a range of directed art studies and associated activities. In the various curriculum and extra curriculum studies we also aim to develop students general awareness and understanding of visual language and its relationship to the world around them. Opportunities for further art training and the consideration of a career in art is promoted and students are supported in their applications for further study.
Teaching and learning at all levels of study, GCSE, A Level and International Foundation is aimed at ensuring that all students complete the specified units of practical work required in order to successfully complete their course. To do this a specific unit of coursework, appropriate to the course, is undertaken each term, for all levels. This entails the production of an annotated work journal, annotated preparatory work and a final piece.
In the Art and Design department we design the course to develop each students level of practical, organizational, research and analytical skills, (in relation to the study of other artists and movements, visual language and their own ideas), as the course progresses. Students are to develop their own original ideas development in relation to the unit and course specifications.
Teachers employ a range of learning strategies in lessons, including teacher exposition and demonstration, discussion and question and answer sessions, practical activities, formal and informal group and 1:1 review, provisional assessment learning checks and action planning and instructions for next piece of work. Highly experienced teachers from the best leading Art Colleges deliver a nurturing atmosphere with individualistic tailored teaching.
Formal and informal assessments take place throughout the course, to track learning and progress. Group and 1:1reviews and assessments, including those which actively encourage students self-assessment, take place and are aimed at increasing understanding, critical skills and develop confidence through discussion. Critical Assessment is concentrating on the acquiring, awareness and development of skills, ideas, research and personal creative work.
All students are encouraged to develop the ability to be autonomous, independent learners. Students are required to take responsibility for the management and organization of their practical coursework and independent studies. Each student is encouraged to develop their own range of skills, ideas and personal creative directions throughout their art studies.
The experienced core staff within the Department also act as trainers and mentors for NQT and PGCE placements through links with the Institute of Education and Goldsmiths University.
Facilities
The Art and Design department is equipped with the most up to date cutting-edge digital technologies. We very much embrace new technology and a mixed media interdisciplinary ethos. We keep up with the Arts as it reprograms the world we live in. Across the two Art studios, Graphics room, Photography classroom and studio and Art classroom, students have access to 34 iMacs, all running the latest version of the full Adobe CC Suite including Photoshop, Light Room, After Effects & Premier Pro, as well as Large format & A3 photo printers, scanners and tablets.
However, our Art and Design department very much advocates and delivers traditional artistic practices, embracing the secret knowledge of the great masters from the language of painting to sculpture. We have a developing specialism of print-making, from digital print to traditional practices of intaglio to relief printing. Our print-making and drawing workshops deliver in-depth cultural and historical context whilst delivering accessible specialist practice.
Co Curricular Activities
We lead in creativity and technology whilst delivering a programme of in-depth practical workshops and an array of extra-curricular programmes. The Department offers an extensive range of evening co-curricular Art & Design based classes covering Animation & Graphic Design, Photography, Portfolio Building, and Life Classes.
Events
We often collaborate with local galleries, organising visits as well as participating in workshops run by professional artists, exposing our art students to unique experiences. The most frequently visited practical workshops are: Introduction to painting techniques, Introduction to printing techniques, Making paint and Painting with gold leaf.
Regular study visits to art events and exhibitions take place, giving students a broader understanding of the subject and developing their interest in the world of art. Recently this has included study trips to the Frieze Art Fair, The Tate Modern, The National Gallery, the V&A and Paris. The central location of the College within the cultured London art scene, means that students have unlimited access to amazing art museums and facilities right on their doorstep.
This year we have had numerous speakers and have gone to a variety of national museums and exhibitions. We had guest lecturer Derek Johnson a Fabergé Eggs expert and enthusiast, who has been on a mission to see as many of the famous and celebrated Fabergé Eggs as he can around the world. Our guest Speaker gave an exclusive insight into the history and uniqueness of these beautiful objects and discussed its special place in the world of art and design. Derek Johnson is the Director of The School of Art and Design at West Suffolk College as well as being an award-winning artist. He regularly exhibits work in private collections including the University of Pennsylvania and Kyoto University.
‘The Art of DLD’ annual Graduate Show was an exhibition of the outstanding work of our 2022 cohort. Graduating students at DLD College London recently showcased their creative talents during the annual Art and Design exhibition, exhibiting their works in the atrium at DLD College London. Our students demonstrated exceptional creativity, progression and resilience during this academic year.
To celebrate the efforts of the graduating A-level Art, Photography, Graphic Communication and The International Foundation program students, we exhibited their fabulous work, which was put on display for all the guests, alumni and parents to admire.
Staff, alumni, fellow students, parents and the public were able to view a selection of creative pieces that were displayed throughout the atrium. The exhibition was a brilliant way to showcase our students’ creativity and success. The exhibition ran from the 24th of June to the 29th of June.
Awards
In the last eleven years Art, Photography and Graphics students have been awarded over 60 external prizes and awards. DLD Art students have also won Awards at the annual Leighton House Annual Schools Art Competition, including multiple Highly Commended awards, and students have had their work displayed in a student art exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery as part of the gallery’s annual global student sculpture competition. DLD students have also won the prestigious CIFE Annual award for Art & Photography.
Continued Success for DLD Art Department at the Annual ISA Art Competition in 2023
Astonishing Success for DLD Art at the Regional ISA Art Competition 2022
DLD Scoops 2 wins out of 3 in the ISA Film & Digital Art Awards 2022
Destinations
Our results, artwork and destinations are truly remarkable and testimony to the capability and ambition of our students and outstanding Art and Design department. Although a mixed ability school, DLD achieves a 100% pass rate for A Levels which always includes the highest grades of A and A*.
The Art & Design Offers List for 2022 maintained our 100% record of achieving places for all our students-for the 21st successive year (and includes an average of more than 3 Offers per student)
We are very proud of our high performing and conscientious students for their excellent results and destinations. Students received expert guidance and support when applying to various post A Level and International Foundation Program courses in world-renowned Art Colleges with students gaining offers for further study in London, Europe and internationally. These colleges include the University of the Arts; Central Saint Martins, Chelsea, Camberwell, Wimbledon, The London College of Fashion, and The London College of Communication, Goldsmiths, Kingston, Ravensbourne, City & Guilds, Parsons school of design, Istituto Marangoni, and The Bartlett in London, and various prestigious Art Colleges across the world.
DLD Alumni are at present excelling in a range of arts-based Foundation, Degree and Postgraduate Courses in major Art Colleges, including Central St. Martin’s, Chelsea College of Art, and the Royal College of Art.
We are very proud of our high performing and conscientious students for their excellent results and destinations.
Offers List for 2022
| Course | University |
| Architectural Technology | London South Bank University |
| Architectural Technology | Westminster University |
| Architecture | Edinburgh University |
| Architecture | Kingston University |
| Architecture | Kingston University |
| Architecture | Norwich University of the Arts |
| Architecture | Ravensbourne University |
| Architecture | Ravensbourne University |
| Architecture | Westminster University |
| Architecture | Westminster University |
| Architecture (£9,000 Vice Chancellor Scholarship) | Arts University Bournemouth |
| Business & Management | Royal Holloway University of London |
| Business Management with Professional Experience | University of Westminster |
| Business Management | Birmingham City University |
| Business Management | Kingston University |
| Business Management | London South Bank University |
| Business Management | Queen Mary University of London |
| Business Management | Surrey University |
| Business Management | University of Westminster |
| Business Management | Westminster University |
| Business Marketing & Management | Queen Mary University |
| Business with Marketing | City University of London |
| Design Crafts | De Montfort University |
| Digital Film Production | Ravensbourne University London |
| Engineering & Architectural Design | The Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London) |
| Events Management | UEL – University East London |
| Events Management | University of Greenwich |
| Fashion Branding & Creative Communication | Cambridge School of the Visual & Performing Arts |
| Fashion Business & Buying | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Fashion Business, Digital Communication & Media | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Fashion Design | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Fashion Design | Regent’s University London |
| Fashion Design (accepted with scholarship) | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Fashion Design | Parsons, The New School, New York |
| Fashion Imaging and Illustration | London College of Fashion – University of the Arts London (U65) |
| Fashion Management | University of Manchester |
| Fashion Management & Marketing | LCCA – London College of Contemporary Arts |
| Fashion Marketing | Leeds Beckett University |
| Fashion Marketing with Management | University of Southampton |
| Fashion Promotion | Ravensbourne University |
| Fashion Promotion & Communication | Kingston University |
| Fashion Styling and Creative Direction | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Film | University of Roehampton |
| Film & Television Production | London Metropolitan University |
| Film Making | Kingston University |
| Fine Art | Arts University Bournemouth |
| Fine Art | Goldsmith’s University of London |
| Fine Art | Kingston University |
| Fine Art | Kingston University |
| Fine Art | Leeds University |
| Fine Art | London Metropolitan University |
| Fine Art | London Metropolitan University |
| Fine Art | Middlesex University |
| Fine Art | Newcastle University |
| Fine Art | University of East London |
| Fine Art | University of Southampton |
| Graphic and Media Design | University of the Arts London |
| Graphic Design | Arts University Bournemouth |
| Graphic Design | Chelsea College of Art (University of Arts London) |
| Graphic Design | London College of Communication (University of Arts London) |
| Graphic Design | London Metropolitan University |
| Graphic Design | London Metropolitan University |
| Graphic Design | London Metropolitan University |
| Graphic Design | Middlesex University |
| Graphic Design | Ravensbourne University |
| Graphic Design | Ravensbourne University London |
| Graphic Design | Ravensbourne University London |
| Graphic Design | Ravensbourne University London |
| Graphic Design | University of East London |
| Graphic Design | University of Westminster |
| Graphic Design | University of Westminster, London |
| Graphic Design | Westminster University |
| Hospitality & Tourist Management | Coventry University |
| Illustration | London Metropolitan University |
| Illustration | University of Brighton |
| Illustration | University of the Creative Arts (Canterbury) |
| Interior and Spatial Design | Camberwell College of Art (University of Arts London) |
| Interior Architecture | Westminster University |
| Interior Design | Chelsea College of Art (University of Arts London) |
| Interior Design | Kingston University |
| Interior Design | Kingston University |
| Interior Design | KLC School of Design London |
| Interior Design | London Metropolitan University |
| Interior Design | University of West London |
| Interior Design & Lighting | Istituto Marangoni London |
| Interior Design Environment Architecture | Ravensbourne University |
| Interiors | Istituto Marangoni London |
| International Fashion & Marketing | Coventry University |
News
Continued Success for DLD Art Department at the Annual National ISA Art Competition 2023
https://www.dldcollege.co.uk/2022/10/13/sixth-form-and-upper-school-art-competition-winners/
DLD Scoops 2 wins out of 3 in the ISA Film & Digital Art Awards 2022
