Rhea Dillon exhibits at Tate Britain

We were very proud and excited this week to hear that alumna and former Head Girl, Rhea Dillon (Class of 2014) will be exhibiting at Tate Britain as part of their Art Now series which showcases emerging talent and highlights new developments in British art.

Rhea’s collection of work titled An Alterable Terrain brings together new and existing sculptures, examining material and colonial histories and considering the formation of British and Caribbean histories.

Rhea’s extraordinarily powerful portrait of her grandmother still hangs proudly in our Senior Hall as a constant reminder not only of her talent but also, I always think, of the positive influence of strong women as role models. I have always loved that this portrait keeps company with the one of our founder Dorinda Neligan in the same Hall! A very proud Mrs Smith who, along with Mrs Palmer and Ms Duyt, nurtured Rhea’s talent while she was here at Croydon High, was in touch with Rhea this week to congratulate her and reports that Rhea is keen to invite current art students to her exhibition which will be a wonderful opportunity for them.

Not many schools can boast not one, but three alumnae who have exhibited at The Tate, amongst other prestigious institutions.

Croydon High is also very proud to claim Barbara Jones (Class of 1931) who was an artist, writer and mural painter. She is known for curating the Tate exhibition Black Eyes and Lemonade (1951) and for her book The Unsophisticated Arts (1951). At school, Barbara became friends with a girl called Joyce Drew who became known as Jane  Drew, the highly renowned architect and town planner and it seems they influenced each other’s careers.

In addition, Helen Chadwick (Class of 1971) was a renowned sculptor, photographer and installation artist and one of the first women artists to be nominated for the Turner Prize, in 1987. Helen was known for “challenging stereotypical perceptions of the body in elegant yet unconventional forms” whilst Rhea’s work in her upcoming exhibition has been described as a conceptual fragmentation of a Black woman’s body. What a shame the two never met as Helen sadly passed away in 1996 at the age of just 42. Co-incidentally 1996 was the year Rhea was born.

Rhea Dillon: An Alterable Terrain at Tate Britain 23 May 2023 – 1 January 2024

Mrs Fran Cook
Director of Philanthropy and External Relations