Bayside A-level students to hold art showcase

An exhibition of artwork by 26 Year 12 and Year 13 students from Bayside School Gibraltar opens today at the Arté Gallery in Irish Town.

The event forms part of the school’s A-Level Showcase 2025 and highlights the work of students taking part in the Growing Artists programme.

Year 13 student Aimee Linares said that art has influenced her to engage more with the community through the programme, where she volunteers every Thursday with younger children.

“I've nearly sent off my application where I'm deciding whether to pursue a degree in interior design or architecture, and because of art, this has helped,” she said.

Fellow Year 13 student Catherine Rosado runs the school’s Mural Club in the English department.

“We help younger artists, such as year seven and year eight, sketch out their ideas for a mural in the school and work together as a team to make that mural happen. So it's really like creating confidence in young artists,” she said.

Catherine is also a member of a local youth club and has participated in annual art events during Mental Health Week, as well as in the Cavalcade.

She is presenting two self-portraits as part of the exhibition, one from a GCSE project and another from a synaesthesia project completed in Year 12.

“Yoey're both self-portraits, and I quite like both of them because they explore themes of identity and emotion,” she said.

Aimee is also exhibiting two pieces.

“For my first piece I've entered, it was part of a synaesthesia workshop that we did towards the end of Year 12. And for my second piece, it's an artwork related to my personal investigation that links with identity and reflections and the concept of Water Reflections,” she said.

The personal investigation forms part of the Year 13 students’ coursework and accounts for 60% of their final A-level grade.

Year 12 students Christian Chang-Chipolina and Lily Jenkins are also taking part in the exhibition.
Christian said his work includes two previous GCSE pieces.

“My first piece was my Year 10 final piece, which was basically just a painting that was down by Europa Point,” he said.

“And my other piece was my Year 11 final piece, where I focused on athletes, specifically in swimming and how they might struggle with confidence or other difficulties they’ll face through the race."

A competitive swimmer who has represented Gibraltar in the Island Games and won the GASA endurance swim three times, he said the topic reflected his personal experiences.

“So I'm a swimmer, basically, and I think obviously doing a project more personal to me would help me enjoy it more. And I think it just made it more fun,” he said.

Lily is exhibiting two pieces from her GCSE studies.

“It was a big landscape and a panorama. I chose to do that because I really found the surroundings interesting and also the way that the weather affected the buildings around it,” she said.

Her second piece was inspired by a theatre production.

“It was a portrait from Macbeth. I chose to do it because I really appreciated the lighting and I thought it was very interesting to turn that into a piece with oil pastels,” she said.

“I also included script in the background because I'm very interested in reading and literature.”

Catherine described the school’s art department as “very positive.”

“It's quite a supportive place within art lessons itself. I feel like the community we have as a class is very welcoming and supportive,” she said.

She added that students have access to a wide range of artistic techniques.

“It offers more than you can imagine,” she said.

Aimee said the environment had been positive throughout her studies.

“The art department is very positive and the environment is lovely. I've really enjoyed all years throughout GCSE and A level and it's definitely benefited me and I'll hopefully be doing something with art in the future,” she said.

Christian said: “They've been very welcoming, very supportive. I think very strict in some aspects, but I think at the end of the day, it's all helpful for you to grow.”

Lily said she appreciated the smaller class sizes at A level.

“It's a smaller community and you get to know people. I've also experimented with mediums that I wouldn't have used before,” she said.

The exhibition will be open at Arté Gallery from 6pm to 8pm tonight.