Hannah Newell
Hannah Newell
Old Bedalian 2005

Have you undertaken any kind of further study since leaving Bedales and have you gained any further qualifications?

From Bedales I went straight on to an Art Foundation course at Chelsea College of Art in London. I was then accepted onto the BA course in Fine Art also at Chelsea, and continued to study there for a further three years graduating in 2009 with a 1st.

What kind of work are you currently involved in, and how and why have you come to be doing it?

Since October 2012, I have been studying for a Masters in Critical Writing in Art and Design at the Royal College of Art. This is a two year MA finishing in 2014. Over the past couple of years I had been slowly moving into a career as an arts writer as well as continuing to show and make work as an artist. After being asked by friends and colleagues to write about their work, I started being invited to write online reviews. From there I received further commissions for reviews, critical writing and catalogue essays and became an editor for an online arts journal and network.  The course in Critical Writing at the RCA pretty much stands alone in its field, although it has begun to inspire other universities to consider similar programming and I feel very lucky to be a part of this exciting new course.

It shook my world up a bit, but in the very best of ways

 

Did attending Bedales help you in getting to where you are now and how satisfied are you with what you are doing?

On a practical level, Bedales convinced both my parents and I that pursuing art beyond school was a real, feasible option if that was what I wanted to do and I'm deeply grateful for that. Bedales was a very different environment to the schooling I had had before and I would say it shook my world up a bit, but in the very best of ways. I also made some incredible friendships; people who inspired me then and continue to do so today.

Have you been involved in any other interesting activities or occupations since leaving school?

Between 2010 and 2011 I went on a post-uni gap year. Starting in the USA, I bought a car with friends and drove from coast to coast and a bit more besides, venturing into Canada a couple of times and picking up or dropping off parts of our constantly changing band of road-trippers as we went. I then flew to Ecuador in South America and made my way through Peru, Bolivia and Chile, occasionally stopping to work in a hostel bar and take some Spanish lessons. From there I headed to New Zealand and Australia where I lived in Sydney for a month or so to catch up with friends and family before heading back to the UK. It was an amazing time and I'll definitely be going again.