Local students collaborate with National Trust to create an art exhibition at Lyveden
The National Trust at Lyveden have partnered with Tresham College (part of The Bedford College Group) in Kettering and Corby to create a unique art exhibition ‘Views on Lyveden’, which opens 1 March.
Art inspired by Lyveden. Image courtesy of Tresham College
Art students visited the Elizabethan site, including the beautiful Manor House, 16th century lodge, and 140 acres of orchards and meadows - harbouring secret religious symbolism. There they learned the captivating story of its former owner Sir Thomas Tresham, who lived as a Catholic during Protestant Tudor England, and [after whom their college was named].
Inspired by their visit, the students created a variety of pieces, reflecting on themes from religious [and authoritarian] persecution to the beauty of the natural world.
Image courtesy of Tresham College
National Trust staff and volunteers from Lyveden then selected the pieces to be installed as part of the exhibition Views on Lyveden, which will be shown on rotation throughout the year.
Jennifer Hatton, Property Operations Manager said, “We’re really proud to be playing host to such an inspiring and interesting exhibition, and to highlight young local talent.
“For many of the participants, this will be their first interaction with the National Trust, and it’s exciting to see their contemporary reflections and personal connections to a local story that happened over 400 years ago.”
Spencer Graham, one of the art and design lecturers from Tresham College said “This has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to work on a live project with the National Trust. Our initial visit to Lyveden in September 2022 emphasised the importance of primary research and allowed the students to engage meaningfully with the beauty of the site whilst taking part in a series of workshops. Back in the studios at college each student developed an individual body of work leading towards the outcomes within the exhibition.”
“I really liked how Lyveden was left incomplete, usually you visit complete buildings. Lyveden had a sense of calm and undisrupted environment, this I wanted to communicate in my work.”
Lyveden, which re-opened in 2021 following a project to fully reorientate the site, has long been a local icon of Northamptonshire and has stood the testament of time. The new exhibition space inside Lyveden Manor which will continue to work with community groups to develop engaging and exciting exhibitions for visitors.
National Trust Images, Mike Selby
For more information about the Lyveden visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/Lyveden
