Directors' Welcome
We’re thrilled to launch the 2021 John Hughes Arts Festival! With so many events cancelled this year, it is testament to the amazing work of our committee that we have been able to find a way to continue this wonderful college tradition.
While hosting a virtual festival offers many challenges, it also creates many new opportunities. This year, we are able to expand the reach of our events – anyone, anywhere can tune in! Wonderful guests can join us who may not have otherwise been able to, including Gayle Chong Kwan, an incredible artist based in London who will be speaking on our panel about art and dismantling the ‘canon’. Our virtual gallery – inspired by the college’s Marshall Room – has expanded the scope of what we can display as ‘art’, meaning you’ll find some pieces in there that we couldn’t hang on an ordinary wall. And the wonders of the internet mean the gallery will be available to view for a whole year!
In this difficult and isolating time, finding ways to come together as a community has never been more important. Celebrating art in all of its forms is an incredible way to do this. With 21 artists, 40 pieces, 4 live online events, and 3 ‘on demand’ online events, we hope the weekend ahead will bring you joy, and will offer some respite from the rest of the world right now.
Posy & Liv
Festival Directors, 2021
Committee
- Directors: Olivia Emily, Posy Putnam
- Heads of Gallery: Rose Asquith, Toby Ashworth
- Gallery Team: Meesha Munot, Alex Vardill, Millie Slack
- Graphic Design: Sophie Beckingham
- Head of Publicity: Abi Seymour
- Publicity Team: Blanca SL
- Head of Events: Kirsten Murray
- Events Team: Lucy Atkin, Suining Sim, Molly Desorgher
- Sponsorship: Jess Molyneux
- Treasurer: Katy Cartlidge
- Secretary: Ben Gibson
Thanks
Thank you! There’s a lot of people who have helped make JHAF 2021 happen, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our incredible team, who rose to the challenge (with creativity and enthusiasm) of moving the festival online. We couldn’t have done it without you! Kudos especially to the gallery team – and to everyone at V21 Artspace – who envisioned, curated and created our virtual gallery. Rose and Toby, our gallery team leaders, have been absolutely invaluable!
Thank you to our events team who have created an inspiring and wide-ranging series of events for us all to enjoy – and to the publicity team who have ensured you know all about it!
A special mention to the talented Sophie Beckingham, who created the official JHAF 2021 zine, logo, and all of the graphics you’ve seen on our social media pages over the last few months. Sophie has some artwork in the gallery that is definitely worth having a look at!
We are also grateful for the support (and funds!) of the Jesus College Student Union in making this switch to an online gallery, and particularly Jacob Powell who created the wonderful JHAF website. Thanks also go to James Crockford and Christopher Burlinson for their support, advice and encouragement.
Finally, we want to thank the wonderful Jesus College community, past and present, who have helped make the festival what it is – long may it continue!