Students have artwork displayed at prestigious Royal Academy of Arts 

Two students from EKC Dover College have had their art selected to join a showcase by the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts. 

The Royal Academy of Arts is an institution based in London, led by top artists and architects. Their annual exhibitions are some of the most respected in the country.  

Ruby Ozdag and Evan Medhurst both study Level 3 Art and Design at EKC Dover College, and were up against over 25,000 other entries in their submissions for the Royal Academy Young Artists’ Summer Show.

Ruby’s piece formed her final project as part of her college course. The multimedia piece is a collage of five landscape pictures, and is an exploration of her cultural heritage. 

The piece will be exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout July and August, and will be one of around 1 – 2% of applications to be displayed. 

“I was surprised when my piece was selected. I didn’t actually realise that it was as hard to get into as I was told as I didn’t think about how big the exhibition is,” she said.  

“Getting to go to the Royal Academy has helped my confidence, knowing that I got through an actual competition, and going up there twice to take it in, and to go to the private view. 

“It’s also something I can put on my CV, and it’s just an incentive to keep doing more.”

Evan has studied at the college for three years, and submitted a photo, which has been selected for the online element of the exhibition.  

Discussing his piece, he said: “My piece was part of a series of five photos. This one is a picture of me in a field, looking away from the camera.  

“I chose this as I was focusing on mental health, and I like to take walks in nature when I’m quite stressed, and the field is an area that I like to go to.  

“Being selected by the Royal Academy is quite surreal.” 

The students’ success comes as their lecturer, and Head of Bench Street Arts Campus, Jacob Weeks, exhibited his work at the Royal Academy last year. The success of the three artists is a testament to the quality of art education at EKC Dover College. 

Next academic year, the Art and Design courses at EKC Dover College will move into the new EKC Dover College Bench Street Arts Campus, inside The Bench building, which has been funded by the UK Government.  

Jacob says that you’ve got to put your work out there to succeed, and the new building will offer more chances for students to showcase 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,” he said.  

“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.”