An Art Scholar's introduction to the Cambridge Literary Festival
Our Year 12 Art Scholar, Vinnie H., gave an eloquent and heartfelt introduction to Laura Cumming’s emotive contemplations on Dutch art at the Cambridge Literary Festival on Saturday.
Vinnie stepped up to the lectern in the Old Divinity School, Cambridge with calm assertion to deliver her welcome to the acclaimed art critic and award-winning author of "Thunderclap. A memoir of art and life & sudden death." The sell-out audience was quietly attentive.
In Vinnie's words:
"Meeting Laura Cumming, an inspirational women succeeding in her career, showed me that my future aspirations can be endless. Her book made me reflect on how I view paintings and how, with more depth and perception, you can really appreciate the power that art holds."
You can read her full speech
here
With Dutch ancestry herself, Vinnie clearly felt a strong affinity with both Laura’s book, and with the author also, when they mutually discovered they both have roots in the very same street in Edinburgh!
At St Mary's, the significance of strong female role models is not underestimated: nor is the value in opportunities like the Cambridge Literary Festival, where students can take the lead and speak out with a passion and conviction of their own.
As a long-term sponsor of both the Spring and Winter Festivals, St Mary’s is proud to give the role of representing the School each time to a girl whose enthusiasm and personal interests resonate with the book under the spotlight. Through the introduction of books ranging from STEM, Art, and successful women to a history of forgotten women, not only is academic confidence fostered, but our young women are equipped with the tools to lead and to make a meaningful impact.