This Is Art! Deadline Extended for Young Artists of All Abilities

Tuesday, 12 Jan 2021 11:46

By RTÉ

RTÉ and the Creative Ireland Programme extend the closing date for This Is Art! Competition

“My creation shows that art can still shine through even in difficult times”Siobhán (17): Out on the City Scape

Good news for all young artists, due to the incredible response from young artists from all corners of Ireland, RTÉ and the Creative Ireland programme have decided to extend the closing date for This is Art!. To offer a platform for creativity as the country embraces another
lockdown, the closing date for entries is now Sunday 31st January, 2021.

This is Art! invites everyone aged 18 and under, individually or in groups, to create a piece of art to be showcased in an online art gallery for generations to come. In so doing, the competition promotes artistic practice among young people while encouraging creativity, originality and self-expression.

Suzanne Kelly, Head of Young People’s Programming, RTÉ said:“Everyone at RTÉ is thrilled with the response to the This Is Art! competition. The volume and standard of work that is being uploaded onto the website every day is staggering. Through their work and artist’s statements the young people of Ireland have given creative expression to their lives and concerns at this time. It is a unique privilege to be able to showcase this work and that is why we feel it is extremely important to facilitate as many young creators as possible by extending the deadline.”

Tania Banotti, Director of the Creative Ireland Programme said:“We are thrilled with the response from the young people of Ireland to the This Is Art! initiative. Our ambition for this project is that it would encourage our younger citizens to realise their full creative potential and to find new ways to express themselves, develop self-confidence and a sense of creative achievement. At a time when life seems so restricted, creativity helps us all feel free and therefore we are delighted that the deadline has been extended to allow more young people to participate.”

This Is Art! judge. Tadgh Crowley, Glucksman Museum, Cork said:“I’ve been delighted to see the imaginative entries by children of all ages from across the country to date. We’re seeing such incredibly thoughtful and beautiful artworks from young people. Art provides us with an important way to communicate our feelings and experiences and this is particularly vital during these unprecedented times. The artworks that these young people are creating give us a glimpse into their lives and will stand as an important record of life in Ireland today.”

Take a look at some of the entries that have been uploaded to the This Is Art! online gallery.

• Rose (17): My Own Little World “I wanted to push myself by creating an imaginative piece using a completely new medium. The boredom filled, lacklustre life that corona virus has created for many of us inspired me to paint a place where I could be completely enthralled. I am very proud of myself for finishing this piece. I am filled with joy and wonder any time I look at this painting, as if I am in my own little world”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/rose-04-12-2020-10-26-31

• Jeff (7): Hangry Grandad “My creation shows an angry grandad who is covered in tomato ketchup and mustard. He got messy while eating hotdogs at home, cause we can’t eat out at the moment. It’s a crazy world! I love art because it’s fun and I can use my imagination and explore different things”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/jeff-01-01-2021-4-50-59

• Lilly (13): Isolation “Isolation” is inspired by losing your identity during the pandemic. This work was completed while we had to wear masks while returning to school. Even though a large school with over a thousand students, it is possible to feel very alone and distant from others at this time”
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/lilly-30-12-2020-2-50-57

• Isabelle (7): Close Contacts “I decided to re-use my Dads pizza box to paint using as many different colours to represent the people of Ireland as I had. This was our first pizza to be delivered when we came out of the first lockdown”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/isabelle-01-01-2021-6-46-54

• Eve (6): Nana at 70 “It was my Nana’s 70th birthday this month. We couldn’t go to the shops to buy a present and we couldn’t throw a party. I love watching portrait painting programmes and told Dad I wanted to paint Nana just like the artists on TV. I was excited to use a canvas for the first time and got a little grumpy when Dad tried to give me advice! I used the techniques I learnt from TV, sketching first from the iPad, mixing the colours and spending time getting the likeness. I am so proud of my
painting”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/eve-29-11-2020-9-53-11

• Ha Eun (10): The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow “My painting represents that even when the sun sets and the world is covered in darkness, the sun will always come back up again and bring it’s light with it. It also expresses the end of the year 2020 with the sun setting on the old year and the hope of a brighter new year for all of us”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/ha-eun-05-01-2021-4-22-15

• Nicole (8): Covid with Flowers “I love flowers and art. Over covid I spent a lot of time in the garden looking at different flowers and playing games. I painted flowers because I love my garden and nature”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/nicole-04-01-2021-5-46-21

• Ruby (9): Cactus Life “My mum loves cactus plants but as strange as it sounds she can never keep them alive! So I painted her one that can never die to enjoy as we are indoors so much these days”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/ruby-06-01-2021-2-41-27

• Iseult (14): Generation Gap “This painting represents the new normal where the physical gap has widened between the different generations, especially between the elderly and the young. The shadowy image in the distance represents our grandparents whom we have had to distance ourselves from for almost a year. I used acrylics in this piece to create texture and to give a nebulous effect. The setting is my favourite woods where I like to walk my dog. We are all walking together, yet apart, so near yet so far, this is now!”
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/iseult-06-12-2020-10-28-25

• Annie (5): The Bee’s Garden “My name is Annie and I love to spend all my time painting and drawing! It makes me feel really happy and my mam covers all the walls in the house with my paintings! I wanted to create a really fun wild collage with ink, crayons and marker! I loved blowing the ink around the page and printing and drawing flowers! This collage shows a wild colourful garden that bees will fly to in droves to make lovely honey (which I love). I call it the ‘Bees Garden’”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/annie-06-01-2021-5-10-58

• Siobhán (17): Out on the City Scape “The character Sombra, the subject of this piece, originally started as a simple doodle of a person wearing a Covid mask. Her origins trace back to the current global pandemic. My creation of Sombra shows that art can still shine through even in difficult times”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/siobhan-06-01-2021-8-16-37

• Jilly (11): The Lake of Killaloe “This year because of Covid I wanted to spend a lot of time down in Killaloe near my grandparents. They are really nice and loved seeing us. There is a lake there and that just inspired me to paint it. It was great fun!!!”
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/jilly-14-12-2020-4-31-51

• Olivia (12): This is now – Act now “The theme “this is now” got me thinking about the climate crisis & coronavirus pandemic. I walk my dog Biscuit at Irishtown nature reserve by the sea. Strangely, this year I find surgical masks littering the bushes & I pick them up with dogpoo bags. This has inspired my artwork. I want people to think about how wrong masks look in nature & send a message that they ruin the picture. Using materials like leaves and moss shows how fragile the environment is, they won’t last-the message is act now”.
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/olivia-03-01-2021-1-20-02

• Gráinne (13): Interacting with 2020 “One day like many others, I was sitting on the couch on my ipad. I looked over to see my parents sitting on the couch also on electronic devices. And so were my siblings and so was THE WHOLE WORLD! And while on social media, I saw many beautiful works, music, and just genuinely funny videos. But what made these videos funny were that they were relatable. Watching other people go through the same thing. Being bored, and becoming creative. So I combined these things. Because we’re in this together.”
VIDEO: https://www.thisisart.ie/gallery/grainne-03-01-2021-12-33-13

How it works.

The competition is open to all young people of all abilities, residing on the island of Ireland and is inclusive of all visual art disciplines.

There are 5 categories:

· Age 7 and under
· Age 8 – 11
· Age 12 – 15
· Age 16 – 18
· Group category

To enter as an individual or a group, just get creative by making an original piece of visual art and uploading a photo or scan of it online. The artwork will then be entered into the competition and reviewed by an independent panel of judges.

All the artwork is available to view on thisisart.ie as well as featuring on billboards across our towns and cities.

The prizes

· Grand Prix Award: 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 ARHA;

· Commendations: 30 works across all categories will receive Commendation Certificates along with prize vouchers for art materials and a professional review of their work;

· Group Bursaries: Three Group Bursaries, valued at €2,000 per group, will be awarded through which professional artists will facilitate an art experience for your school or group;

· 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.

The Dates

· Online submissions are now welcome.
· The closing date for entries is now Sunday 31st January 2021.
· Winners will be announced and prizes awarded in February 2021.

Where did the idea come from?

In an incredibly difficult year for those who work in the arts and creative industries and in the face of ongoing restrictions and lockdowns across the island, RTÉ’s Young People’s Department and the Creative Ireland Programme sought to follow previous successful collaborations on Cruinniú na nÓg and deliver a creative initiative that visibly celebrated art in all its forms and that would connect kids and young adults on an all-island level. This Is Art! is that initiative.

Further information and all competition details and terms and conditions are available at www.rte.ie/thisisart and www.thisisart.ie.

For more on Creative Ireland, visit www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/about/