Art New York Trip (Written by Zachy Y13)

During the October half term, the Upper School art crew boarded a flight to New York. Eye mask, hood and headphones on – we all woke up landing in JFK. After a long wait for customs, almost as long as the Christinson hall lunch queue, and some much-needed coffee, we made it onto a coach. Driving past those suburban houses, yellow school buses and fire escapes with the Year 12s blasting Empire State of Mind, we made it.

Day 1, we took a very windy trip up the Empire State Building, watching the sky grow darker, and in awe of the beauty of New York. Day 2, we headed straight to the cathedral of art that is MoMA - we were spoiled. Some highlights were Ruth Asawa’s incredible prints and Warhol’s soup cans. Later we took a trip to Queens to see the work at the contemporary offshoot of MoMA  ‘PS1’ housed in an old school where we were confronted with more .

A dinner trip, where portion sizes seemed to only fit Giants, saw the group get closer together. Day 3, we took a boat ride to Lady Liberty herself: gossiping with a side of views. We then went to the Met, where we were divided on our opinion of Man Ray’s exhibition, although, the modern art section was standout for all of us. Ending up in Williamsburg, we sketched on the beach and wolfed down some pizza, ready for a walk on Manhattan bridge. Day 4 saw us walk the high line, view the private Chelsea galleries (Sasha Gordon’s ‘Haze’ was a triumph) and take in the 9/11 memorial and museum, a poignant highlight of the trip.

Day 5, we were wowed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim, where opinions were divided by Rashid Johnson’s exhibition. A final trip around central park (iced coffee and bagel in hand) was a fantastic close to a fantastic trip. The trip was incredible, ‘I would spend another week here’ was the general sentiment, even another month would have been the best. Breathtaking views, famous pieces, great food, marvellous outfits (critiqued by Miss Way/ Wintour) fabulous company and inspiring artistry – the 2025 NY trip will go down in history.