Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea ...

specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and

Merton Park Merton Park is a suburb in the London Borough of Merton. It is situated between Colliers Wood, Morden, South Wimbledon and Raynes Park. It is 11 miles (11.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is part of the historic parish of Merton i ...

, South West London.

History

The foundation of Wimbledon College of Arts goes back to 1890, when an art class for the Rutlish School for Boys was started. Between 1904 and 1920 this was housed in the

Wimbledon Technical Institute Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

in Gladstone Road. It became independent in 1930 and moved to Merton Hall Road in 1940. Theatre design was taught from 1932, and became a department in 1948. BA courses were introduced from 1974, and MA courses from 1984. In 1993 the school, which previously had been controlled by the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a borough in Southwest London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Mer ...

, was incorporated as an independent higher education institution, and from 1995 awarded degrees accredited by the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institu ...

. Wimbledon School of Art became part of the

in 2006 and was renamed Wimbledon College of Art. In 2013 it was renamed Wimbledon College of Arts. Wimbledon delivers specialist art, design and theatre courses ranging from

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

, as well as providing research supervision for students undertaking a research programme of study.

Affiliations

Wimbledon is a constituent college of the

, with

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgrad ...

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

Chelsea College of Arts Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

and

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-thera ...

Notable alumni

* James Acheson (costume designer) * David Alesworth (artist) *

Hurvin Anderson Hurvin Anderson (born 1965) is a British painter. Early life and education Anderson was born in Birmingham, England, to parents of Jamaican origin. He was educated at Wimbledon College of Art, London and The Royal College of Art, London. Career ...

(artist,

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

nominee 2017) * Sophie Aston (artist) * Ilan Averbuch (sculptor) *

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...

(musician) * Joyce Bidder (sculptor) *

Nik Borrow Nik Borrow is a bird artist, ornithologist and tour leader. He is co-author and illustrator of the ''Birds of Western Africa'', in the Helm Identification Guides series (first published 2001), featuring over 1300 species and the first guide to ...

(artist) *

Pauline Boty Pauline Boty (6 March 1938 – 1 July 1966) was a British painter and co-founder of the 1960s' British Pop art movement of which she was the only acknowledged female member. Boty's paintings and collages often demonstrate a joy in self-assured ...

(a founder of the Pop Art movement) *

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

(author, famous for 'The Snowman') * Georgina Chapman (fashion designer and actress) * Malvina Cheek (artist) * Prunella Clough (artist) * Alan Collins (sculptor) * Hilda Cowham (illustrator) *

Tony Cragg Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg (born Liverpool 9 April 1949) is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Early life and training Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool."Tony Cragg." ''Contemporary Artists''. Farmington Hills, ...

(1988

winner) * Sebastian Dacey (artist) * Jill Daniels (film director) *

Peter Doig Peter Doig ( ; born 17 April 1959) is a Scottish painter. One of the most renowned living figurative painters, he has settled in Trinidad since 2002. In 2007, his painting ''White Canoe'' sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction r ...

(1994

nominee) * Henrietta Dubrey (artist) *

Mildred Eldridge Mildred Elsie Eldridge known as Elsi Eldridge, (1 August 1909 – 10 March 1991) was a British artist, mural painter and book illustrator. Biography Eldridge was born in Wimbledon in London where her father was pawnbroker who later became a ...

(artist) * Angelo Evelyn (artist) * Eamon Everall (artist) *

Robert Fuest Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres. Biography Born in London, Fuest served his national servi ...

(film director) *

Jill Gibbon Jill Gibbon is a British artist, best known for sketching people in the arms trade while working undercover at arms fairs. She is a senior lecturer in graphic arts at Leeds Beckett University. Gibbon earned a bachelor's degree from Leeds Polytech ...

(artist) *

Soutra Gilmour Soutra Gilmour is a British set designer. She was born in London and trained at the Wimbledon School of Art. She is primarily known for her work on the London stage. She won the Evening Standard Award for Best Set Design in 2012 for her work on ...

(set designer,

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

nominee) * Patricia Gonzalez (artist) *

Jonathan Gray (editor) Jonathan Gray is the editor of ''Dancing Times ''Dancing Times'' is a dancing magazine based in the UK, the oldest dance magazine to be still published. The magazine helped found the Royal Academy of Dance, the Camargo Society, and the British D ...

Sarah Greenwood Sarah Greenwood is a British production designer. She has been nominated six times for an Academy Award – in 2006 for ''Pride & Prejudice'', in 2008 for ''Atonement'', in 2010 for ''Sherlock Holmes'', in 2013 for ''Anna Karenina'' and in 2018 f ...

(production designer, known for

Beauty and the Beast (2017 film) ''Beauty and the Beast'' is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films, the film is a live ...

Atonement (film) Atonement is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part. Atonement may also refer to: Religion * Atonement in Judaism ** Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the biblical/Jewish observance * Atonement in Chris ...

Anna Karenina (2012 film) ''Anna Karenina'' is a 2012 historical romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright. Adapted by Tom Stoppard from Leo Tolstoy's 1877 novel of the same name, the film depicts the tragedy of Russian aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina, wife of ...

) *

Henry Haig Henry Haig (9 February 19306 December 2007) was an English abstract artist, painter and sculptor but notable predominantly for his stained glass work. Early life and education Born in Hampstead in 1930, Haig's talent was recognised and encourage ...

(stained glass artist) *

John Haldane (philosopher) John Joseph Haldane (born 19 February 1954) is a British philosopher, commentator and broadcaster. He is a former papal adviser to the Vatican. He is credited with coining the term 'Analytical Thomism' and is himself a Thomist in the analytic t ...

Anthea Hamilton Anthea Hamilton (born 1978) is a British artist who graduated from the Royal College of Art and was one of four shortlisted for the 2016 Turner Prize and responsible for the show's most popular exhibit, Project For Door. She is known for creatin ...

(

nominee) *

Corin Hardy Corin Hardy (born 6 January 1975) is an English film director. He made his directorial debut with the 2015 horror film '' The Hallow'', which he also co-wrote. He directed the 2018 horror film '' The Nun'', a spin-off of ''The Conjuring 2'' (2 ...

(film director) * James Hawkins (artist) * Robin Hill (Australian artist) *

Russell Hill Russell Hill may refer to: * Russell Hill (artist) (born 1988), British artist * Russell Hill (footballer) (1920–1987), Australian rules footballer * Russell Hill (war correspondent), see New York Herald Tribune * Russell Hill, Croydon, an ar ...

(artist) *

Lubaina Himid Lubaina Himid (born 1954) is a British artist and curator. She is a professor of contemporary art at the University of Central Lancashire.Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winner 2017) * Kenny Ho (stylist) * Carole Hodgson (artist) *

Richard Hollis Richard Hollis (born 1934) is a British graphic designer. He has taught at various art schools, written books, and worked as a printer, as a magazine editor and as a print-production manager. Biography Hollis was born in London and studied ...

(graphic designer) * Richard Hudson (production designer, famous for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

‘s

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

winner) *

Dennis Huntley Dennis Huntley, born in Weybridge in Surrey, England, is a British sculptor, furniture designer and author. A Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, he has completed works for cathedrals, individual collectors and other organisations. ...

(artist) * Charles Knode (costume designer) * Maria Marshall (artist) *

Tom McGuinness (musician) Thomas John Patrick McGuinness (born 2 December 1941) is a guitarist, songwriter, author, record and TV producer. Born in Wimbledon, South London, who is best known as the guitarist from Manfred Mann and The Blues Band. In 1986 he wrote the ...

Robert Micklewright Robert Flavell Micklewright (1923–2013) was a British artist, illustrator and designer. He worked as a freelancer and designed dust jackets for books by C. P. Snow and V. S. Naipaul, and posters for London Transport (brand), London Transport. ...

(1923–2013), artist and illustrator * Bill Mitchell, founder of site-specific theatre company

Wildworks WildWorks (formerly Smart Bomb Interactive) is an American game development studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The studio was assembled from game industry veterans, co-founded by Kris Johnson, Clark Stacey, and Jeff Amis. The studio has develope ...

. * Aries Moross (graphic designer) * Alice Normington (production designer,

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

winner) * Christopher Oram (theatre designer and

winner) *

Nick Ormerod Nicholas Ronald Ormerod OBE (born 9 December 1951) is a British theatre designer and co-founder of the international theatre company Cheek by Jowl. In 1981 he founded Cheek by Jowl with Declan Donnellan, and they are the company's co-artistic dir ...

(theatre designer) * Mabel Pakenham-Walsh (artist) *

Eugene Palmer (artist) Eugene Oliver Palmer (born 1955) is a Jamaican-born British artist. His work uses archival records, photographs, and contemporary media imagery as basis for his paintings. Palmer has had a long association with art curators and exhibitors Eddie ...

* Maria Petschnig (artist and filmmaker) *

Phoebe Philo Phoebe Philo OBE (born 1 January 1973) is a British fashion designer. She was the creative director of fashion brands Céline from 2008 to 2018 and Chloé from 2001 to 2006. Early life and education Philo was born in Paris to British parents wo ...

(fashion designer, former director of

Céline Céline, sometimes spelled Celine, is a French female first name of Latin origin, coming from ''Caelīna'', the feminine form of the Roman cognomen ''Caelīnus'', meaning "heavenly".

and

Chloé Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative ...

) * William Pye (sculptor) *

Beth Rogan Jenifer Puckle (19 July 1931 – 25 November 2015), known professionally as Beth Rogan, was a British film actress and Rank Films starlet of the 1950s and 60s. She was married and divorced three times, said by friends to be charming but "dangerous ...

(actor) * Jo Self (artist) * Unity Spencer (1930-2017), artist * Tony Stallard (artist) *

Rajesh Touchriver Rajesh Touchriver (born M. S. Rajesh) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works in English, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi language films. He received various National and International honors for his works. In 20 ...

(film director) *

Anthony Ward Anthony Ward (born 1957) is a British theatre designer specializing in set and costume design. He studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed productions for the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Donma ...

(theatre designer,

winner for best costume) * Gillian Wise (artist) *

Carol Wyatt Carol Wyatt (born 4 October 1946) is a British artist known as a painter and for her stage designs for opera productions. Biography Wyatt studied at the Wimbledon School of Art during 1966 and 1967 and at the Camberwell School of Art from 19 ...

(artist)

Notable staff

Robert Buhler Robert Buhler RA (23 November 1916 – 20 June 1989) was a Swiss landscape and portrait artist who was born in England, where he mostly worked. In Switzerland his name is spelled Bühler. Early life Buhler was born in London to Swiss parents, Ro ...

(1916–1989) * Prunella Clough (1999

Jerwood Painting Prize The Jerwood Painting Prize was a prize for originality and excellence in painting in the United Kingdom, awarded and funded by the Jerwood Foundation. It was open to all artists born or resident in the UK, regardless of age or reputation. Winner ...

winner) *

Maggi Hambling Margaret ("Maggi") J. Hambling (born 23 October 1945) is a British artist. Though principally a painter her best-known public works are the sculptures '' A Conversation with Oscar Wilde'' and '' A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft'' in London, ...

(sculptor, Jerwood Painting Prize winner 1995) *

Freda Skinner Freda Nellie Skinner (31 January 1911 – 19 July 1993) was a British sculptor and woodcarver who was head of sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art from 1945 to 1971. Skinner was born in Warlingham, Surrey, where her father, Norman, had a farm; ...

(1911-1993), sculptor and woodcarver * Yolanda Sonnabend, theatre and ballet designer and painter * Anthony Wood, FSHA, FSSI, (heraldic artist, calligrapher and illuminator; lecturer and art teacher (1965-1986) at the Wimbledon School of Art )

References

External links

College websiteWimbledon Space
{{Authority control Art schools in London Education in the London Borough of Merton University of the Arts London Educational institutions established in 1890 1890 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Wimbledon, London Arts organizations established in 1890