Programme Director ranks among top 4% as artwork showcased at three prestigious exhibitions

A Programme Director from East Kent Colleges Group (EKC Group) has seen his artwork rank in the top 4% after being showcased at three major exhibitions.

Jacob Weeks, who is the Programme Director for Art and Design at EKC Dover College, which is part of EKC Group, has seen his artwork exhibited in several prestigious exhibitions.

Kicking off his success for 2025, the practising fine artist saw his art chosen for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

But now he has told of his success in having four more pieces exhibited at three more showcases.

Hear more about Jacob's success in this video

“The first was the Visual Arts Open Prize,” Jacob explained.

“Thousands of people apply, and they selected my work for the exhibition at the Minster Building in London.

“The second was the London Group Open, which is where a group of artists exhibit their work, but they also put out an open call for you to submit your work.

“I think it’s in its 86th year, so it’s been going a long time. The chances of your work getting chosen are 4% so it’s very difficult to get in.

“I was really pleased that they selected one of my work. It was really good meeting all the artists at the event, the people who selected my work, and talking to them and mingling with all the artists there.”

Jacob added that for the final exhibition, he only had a 2% chance of having his work chosen.

“The ING Discerning Eye Prize was a really amazing event,” he said.

“Two of my works got selected from two artists who I got to meet on the day, which was absolutely fantastic.

“I got to speak to them about my work and why they chose it – the percentage chance of getting into that one is 2%, so you’re talking about quite a low chance of getting in, so it’s amazing that two of my works got selected.”

He added that the event was not only amazing because he got to meet lots of artists, but also because it was a full-circle moment for him, personally.

Jacob explained: “When I was 17, I remember visiting that gallery on a trip, and then 19 years later, to see my own work on there, it was quite an emotional time for that sort of full-circle moment to happen.”

He added that he hopes his success will inspire his students.

“Being a fine artist, you have to have resilience. I’ve struggled with it through the years, so to keep pushing and to keep applying and to keep going is all part of being a fine artist.

“You never know what might happen – this year has probably been my most successful year as a fine artist, and you just have to keep going, so showing this to students to give them the confidence that their work is good and that they can apply for things like this in the future.

“That was a part of my sort of education that I missed, I think. I did a master’s, and I didn’t get much information about this, how to navigate the art world, and how to actually get your work out there.

“It’s very rare that a gallery or a curator comes and finds you- you’ve got to put your work out there for people to see.”

He added that The Bench Building, which has been funded by the UK Government, will be a new creative campus for Art and Design Students at EKC Dover College and will offer new opportunities for students to experience exhibiting their work.

“The Bench is a really unique opportunity because we’re going to have our own exhibition space and gallery, so that will give the students a place to take over earlier on in their artist career. 

“They can show their work to the public and start that journey of showcasing their work and talking to potential industry people that are going to be in the building, but also to come to these events a lot earlier than they may have otherwise been able to.”

To find out more about the new creative campus, click here.