Art Students Trip to New York

February 2008

Steam swirled up from man holes against a backdrop of the neon lit Times Square as we trundled in sub zero temperatures along the sidewalk on our first night in the Big Apple. It was exactly like the countless movies and TV programmes we’d seen so often but this time we were on set! This was the first ever Grey Coat Art trip to New York and the itinerary was overwhelmingly exciting and extremely ambitious for 4 days.

Our first evening meal of burgers and singing waiters in Ellen’s diner was followed by a much needed jet-lag induced sleep, ready to start the Art-packed visit. The subsequent three and a half days were filled with visits to no fewer than seven museums, walks through Central Park, Grand Central Station, across Brooklyn Bridge, a visit to Ground Zero and an ascent of the Empire State Building.

Highlights included the butterfly and moth vivarium in the American Natural History Museum: this incredible array of the live creatures was perfect inspiration for our Year 12 students who had uncannily just been given ‘Butterflies and Moths’ as a possible exam title. The butterflies were stunning as were the students’ sketches and the tropical humidity of the greenhouse provided great relief from the bitter cold outside.

The Museum of Modern Art, PS1 Contemporary Art Centre, Whitney Museum, Metropolitan Museum and Chelsea galleries also featured in our itinerary and gave all of us a real taste of the New York Art Scene. However, it wasn’t just the Art that inspired us as students also had the chance to stop and sketch in Central Park, surrounded by the thawing snow and the grandeur of the Art Deco buildings on the Upper West Side.

In addition to the Art and scenery, we managed to squeeze in some time for shopping: visits to the clothes shops in Soho and on 5^th Avenue resembled a frenzied supermarket sweep and we returned to our meeting point laden with bags full of our purchases. The range of food eaten was as impressive as the number of Art galleries visited as we aimed to cover the New York classics of burgers, pizzas, hot-dogs, a delicious last night dinner in a more sophisticated restaurant and a final breakfast in a traditional American diner of pancakes, crispy bacon and maple syrup, eggs Benedict and an endless flow of coffee.

The students all said they enjoyed the trip immensely and we in the Art department would definitely like to run the trip again. The New Yorkers we met were really impressed by the quality of students drawing in their sketchbooks and commented on how well mannered they were.  All the students completed a journal of their observations of Artwork they saw there and New York life; this will support their exam work and be part of their portfolio for Art college applications.

“It was a fantastic trip...but it was over too quickly!!”  Katy Brock yr 12

"One of my favourite days was when we were allowed to wander off in small groups around Chelsea, which had lots of smaller, commercial galleries. Some of the work there was stunning and they were happy to let us sit, sketch and take photos for as long as we liked. We made it to around 3 or 4 galleries in our time allowance, but beforehand found an amazing little deli with food as close to healthy and nutritional as we had found so far in America. Whilst eating a wholemeal sandwich, the chefs spent ten minutes trying to discover whether we spoke Cockney rhyming slang or the Queen's English. Although we were declared 'posh girls', we taught them as much Cockney as we knew and they promised to spread it throughout America, we sincerely hope it happens". Bryony Wellburn yr 12

"Being in New York was a fantastic experience. The people were friendly and willing to help which was a pleasant surprise considering that there is a myth that states that all New Yorkers are harsh to visitors. The galleries were stunningly amazing and the range of different artists and movements showed just how much of a diverse culture America has. Some fantastic moments included walking across Brooklyn Bridge on a windy evening, a lovely last night meal and finally getting to see paintings by Hopper!" Holly Harris yr 13

Check out the pictures from the trip: