This year, Kirklees College is celebrating 200 Years of Technical Education in Kirklees. The college has had a rich history and can trace its roots back to 1825, with many different institutions preceding the Further Education college that serves Huddersfield and Dewsbury today. One of the college’s longest standing foundational institutions was the Batley School of Art, which remained a part of the college right up until 2018, despite Art and Design provision moving to Dewsbury in the early 2000s.
Batley School of Art has produced some of the finest artists and designers, from the brothers who established the world famous Hornsea Pottery, to major brand designer James Summerville OBE. It is only fitting, therefore, that the college commissions another former alumnus and renowned artist and sculptor, Zachary Eastwood-Bloom to create a piece of art to mark the special anniversary.
Eastwood-Bloom is a homegrown talent – not only did he study and later teach at the college, but both his parents had a connection to the college. His father had also studied at the Batley School of Art, and his mother taught Fashion at the college in his childhood. Speaking about his fondest memories of the college, Zac recalled:
“Like my father when he was young, as an 18-year-old with ambitions of being an artist, I went to study at Batley School of Art, which had now become part of the wider Dewsbury College. I undertook a Foundation Course in Art & Design at the Wheelwright Campus. Looking back over my life as an artist, what I learned in this one year at Dewsbury College was fundamental to the successes I have had later in my career. Quite literally, it laid the foundation for my life as an artist.”
The statue that Zac has designed is his take on the ancient Greek goddesses Athena and Nike. The sculpture has been created using digital modeling and making processes and is being manufactured by the staff at Kirklees College’s Engineering Centre.
Speaking about the inspiration for the sculpture, Zac said:
“Athena is associated with wisdom, reason and handicrafts, and she is also the patron goddess of weaving. Since the Renaissance, Athena has become an international symbol of wisdom, the arts, and classical learning. Given that one of the founding technical education institutes was the Batley Weaving School, opened 200 years ago, Athena seems an apt talisman to celebrate this achievement. She, more than any other mythological deity, symbolises knowledge and learning.
In Athena’s hand is small sculpture of Nike; the winged victory, who personifies victory in any field including art, music, war, and athletics. I see this sculpture as a symbol of great successes for those leaving the college once their studies are completed.”
In the spirit of this, small editions of Nike are also being gifted to the winners of the college’s annual student awards, which are to be held at John Smith’s Stadium in June.
Zac added in his summary of the sculpture, how he feels being commissioned to make this piece:
“It is an honour to create a sculpture to represent 200 years of technical education in Kirklees, and on a personal level my family’s involvement with the college. The delivery of technical education in the region is enormously important and I hope it continues long into the future.”
Athena is expected to be revealed in the coming months, and will be displayed at the college.
To find out more about Kirklees College’s 200 Year celebrations and activities, visit www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk. If you, or someone you know, is a former college alumnus and wants to share their story of Kirklees College, get in touch by emailing communications@kirkleescollege.ac.uk.
