Young artists could find their work displayed in the National Gallery of Scotland or on sale in its shop, if they enter the 2008 art competition for schools. Winning entries will be published in a calendar, exhibited nationally and turned into postcards.
More than 2,600 children entered last year’s competition, and the organisers are hoping for even more this year.
The idea is to encourage children to interact with artworks in the National Galleries and draw inspiration from them. There are six categories with different themes: nursery schools (Birds); P1-3 (Can you see the music?); P4-7 (Sit in splendour); S1-2 (Art to wear); special education schools (Come closer) and group work (selected from any of the above).
Each topic is illustrated on the National Galleries website by three pieces of art from the national collection. Children are presented with facts about the artist and a series of questions to stimulate ideas.
Nursery schools, for example, are shown Joseph Crawhall’s painting of The White Drake (1895), Henri Gaudier-Brzeska’s Bird Swallowing a Fish (1914) and Scottie Wilson’s A Whispering Paradise (1951), above.
Questions then ask them about what kind of birds they see each day; where they would see strange or exotic birds or why some are brightly coloured while others are dull.
Paintings must be submitted on A4, A3 or A2 size paper and any materials or combination of materials, such as pencils, paint, chalks, crayons or cut paper may be used - though “over-use of glitter should be avoided”.
Teachers are encouraged to send the best entries to Linda McLelland, Education department, National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL by May 9, 2008. For full details, go to:
www.nationalgalleries.orgeducationcompetition.
