The competition is open to young people all abilities and across various art disciplines including painting, drawing, photography and sculpture in 5 categories: Age 7 and under, 8-11, 12-15, 16-18 and Group category. The artworks will be judged by a panel of judges consisting of artists Joe Caslin, Fatti Burke and Leanne McDonagh, Sarah McAuliffe (National Gallery of Ireland) and Tadhg Crowley (Glucksman Museum) and will then be displayed in a colourful art gallery on www.rte.ie/thisisart.
Commenting, Catherine Martin, TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media since, said: “One of the key objectives of the Creative Ireland Programme is to ensure that our children and young people have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential. We seek out and support creative programmes that inspire and transform them such as This Is Art! which celebrates the talent of all young people who want to express themselves through visual art. I want to thank the team in Young People’s Programming at RTÉ for creating such an imaginative platform for our children. By asking the question What Is Art? they have given our young people the freedom to create art on their own terms and let their imaginations fly.”
Five young artists, one in each category, will be chosen to receive the inaugural This is Art! Grand Prix Award, a specially commissioned sculpture by visual artist Vera Klute, while 30 works across all categories will receive Commendation Certificates along with with prize vouchers for art materials. Three Group Bursaries will also be awarded while other prizes of bursaries towards short courses in NCAD and Crawford College of Art & Design, vouchers for art materials and vouchers for digital equipment will also be awarded.
