West Dean College

West Dean College is situated in the 6,350 acre West Dean Estate, near Chichester. The Estate was formerly the home of the poet and patron of the arts, Edward James. In 1964 James conveyed this Estate including West Dean House to the Edward James Foundation; in 1971 the Foundation established West Dean College as a centre for the study of conservation, arts, crafts, writing, gardening and music, providing both full-time and short courses. The Sussex Barn Gallery, Tapestry Studio and West Dean Gardens are also located on the Estate.

Short Courses

The College offers over 700 short courses a year, at various levels of experience and covering a wide range of subjects. These courses take place on the West Dean Estate and normally last between one and five days; the students can either be non-residential or stay as a resident in the main house. All courses are taught by practising professionals and there are well-equipped studios workshops.

Diplomas and MAs

West Dean offers MA Degree and Diplomas programmes in Conservation Studies and Visual Arts, validated by the University of Sussex.

The Conservation MA and Diploma can have a specialty in Conservation of Book and Library Materials, Ceramics and Related Materials, Clocks, Furniture and Related Objects and Metalwork.

The Visual Arts MA and Diploma is in Visual Arts, Painting and Drawing, Sculpture or Tapestry and Textile Art. Graduates include artists Pippa Blake and Tim Kent, who have gone on to exhibit their work in a variety of galleries. The College also offers Diploma courses in Making Stringed Musical Instruments.

During these year-long courses, West Dean offers full board accommodation. International students make up over half of the student body at West Dean College.

Tapestry Studio

The West Dean Tapestry Studio was established in 1974 to provide high level craft-based programmes in woven tapestry, one of only a very small number of such studios worldwide. It accepts both public and private commissions. Tapestries woven by the studio are in the Palace of Westminster, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Chelmsford Cathedral. As well as new designs, the Studio is also engaged in recreating the 16th century ‘Hunt the Unicorn’ tapestries, part of a twelve year project for Historic Scotland, for the refurbishment of Stirling Castle.

Sussex Barn Gallery

The Sussex Barn Gallery on the West Dean Estate holds exhibitions of work by major outside artists as well as students and Tutors of West Dean College. Previous exhibitions include sculptor Phillip Jackson’s ‘Sacred and Profane’ in 2005, Man Ray’s ‘light and image’ in 2005 and Brazilian artist Ana Maria Pacheco’s ‘some exercise of power’ in 2006. There has also been an exhibition on ‘the interior landscape of surrealism: A glimpse into the homes of Edward James, Roland Penrose and Lee Miller’ which included the famous lobster telephone and the Mae West Lip Sofa from West Dean House, which were collaborations between Edward James and Salvador Dali. An exhibition on the extraordinarily complex life of the model/photographer Lee Miller was also featured in the Gallery togeether with original works by Man Ray, Picasso and Roland Penrose.

West Dean Gardens

The award winning West Dean Gardens surround the West Dean Estate in the South Downs. Head Gardener Jim Buckland and his wife Sarah Wain restored the Gardens after they suffered severe damage in the 1987 and 1990 storms. The Gardens have been awarded an English Heritage Garden Grade of II*. West Dean features a restored walled kitchen garden with 13 Victorian glasshouses. Robin Lane Fox in the Financial Times said "West Dean has a large walled kitchen garden whose standards are wonderfully high. Greenhouse after greenhouse smiles with top-class plants, fruit and rarities."

A key feature in the Gardens is the 300ft Edwardian pergola, designed by Harold Peto,

The Gardens host several events each year including the Garden Event, Wholly Herbs, Chili Fiesta, Totally Tomato and the Apple Affair.

External links

* [http://www.westdean.org.uk West Dean, The Edward James Foundation]