Introducing the very first This is Art! Exhibition
This is Art! – the annual art competition run by RTÉ in association with The Creative Ireland Programme for young people 0 -18 years throughout the island of Ireland – will showcase an amazing selection of the 15,000 entries received since its launch in 2021 in a new art exhibition.This special This is Art! exhibition is free of charge and will run in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), Ely Place, Dublin 2, from Friday 6th October to Sunday 29th October. Opening times are from 11.00am – 5.00pm, Monday – Friday (6.30pm Wednesday) and from 12.00 noon – 6.30pm on Sunday.
THIS IS INTERACTIVE!Through QR codes beside artists’ names, visitors to the exhibition will get a unique insight into each piece by being brought directly to the artist’s statement which describes in their own words what inspired them to produce the piece. Just scan the QR code with your phone’s camera.THEMES TO DATE – THIS IS INSPIRATION!Three themes will be on display at this exhibition. Each year, young artists of all abilities respond visually to a theme.In 2021, the theme was “This is Now” which invited our young artists to respond creatively to lockdown. Hope, sadness, confusion, anger, and joy converge in an invaluable time capsule of creativity from a time that rocked the world.In the beginning of 2022, with a return to normality on the horizon, the theme was “This is Extraordinary”. Again, the artworks submitted painted a picture of the concerns of young people in Ireland as we transitioned cautiously to a new freedom.In 2023, the theme was “This is Inspiration”. At last, the talent and creativity of our young people could run wild – and it did.
Commenting on the This is Art! exhibition, Director-General of RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst said: “The This is Art! competition celebrates creativity among young people across this island and has been an important part of RTÉ’s support of our youngest artists over the last three years. RTÉ is proud once again to partner with Creative Ireland in this special collaboration with the RHA in its 200th year to provide another opportunity to showcase some incredible art, and celebrate young artists and their artistic creations. Well done and thank you to all those who have participated in This is Art! since it started three years ago. This is a celebration of all of you, and of your inspirational creativity.”Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said: “Many congratulations to the talented young people who have submitted 15,000 artworks and participated in This is Art! since it first launched in 2021. This exhibition is a fantastic reflection of the boundless creativity and enthusiasm of our young citizens. It is wonderful to be able to bear witness to it and I hope that they will continue to express themselves so eloquently for many years to come”Suzanne Kelly, Head of Young People’s Programming, RTÉ said: “This Is Art! began in 2020 as an RTÉ Young Peoples’s digital art initiative; A way to connect kids and young adults through a pandemic, through art. It tapped into the most awe-inspiring creativity and delivered the most poignant digital visual record, Now moving into its fourth year This Is Art! continues to go from strength to strength and I am so thrilled that in collaboration with the RHA & Creative Ireland Programme, RTÉ can bring together under one roof some of artworks uploaded over the past three years for everyone to celebrate, appreciate and enjoy. I would particularly like to commend all of the artists that have taken the time to participate over the past three years, congratulations to everyone involved – This is Art!!!”For more on the exhibition, visit: https://rhagallery.ie/events/exhibitions/this-is-art/. For more on This is Art!, visit https://www.rte.ie/thisisart. Keep up with This is Art! across RTÉ’s and The Creative Ireland Programme’s social media accounts using #thisisartABOUT THIS IS ART!The This is Art! annual competition is run by RTÉ in association with the Creative Ireland Programme. It’s exclusively for young people aged 0 to 18 throughout the island of Ireland. It’s easy to enter – you just take a photo of your work and upload to the website, www.rte.ie/thisisart. To date we’ve had over 15,000 entries, and we are showing a small but amazing selection of some of the entries from the last three years.THIS IS AWARD-WINNING!Every year, our jury panel give a whole series of amazing awards to these amazing young artists.With the Grand Prix Award, five young artists, one in each category, receive the This Is Art! Grand Prix. In 2021, winners received a specially commissioned sculpture by visual artist Vera Klute ARHA; in 2022, a trophy handmade by visual artist Shane Keeling; and in 2023, a one-of-a-kind glass trophy handmade by master glass maker, Róisín de Búitléar.We also give Commendations, with selected works across all categories receiving Commendation Certificates along with prize vouchers for art materials and a professional review of their work.There are Group Bursaries too. Professional art facilitators provide a unique art experience for the winners and runners up in the group category, and we offer Bursaries towards art courses, vouchers for art materials, and picture framing vouchers too.THIS IS THE BACKGROUND!The idea to have a digital art competition for young people came about in 2020, during lockdown. RTÉ Young People’s Programming were looking for a way to connect creative young people on the island of Ireland in the absence of school or social gatherings. We knew from the drawings and pictures that were being sent to us on the RTÉjr’s Home School Hub that kids were busy creating at home. So, RTÉ and The Creative Ireland Programme created a wider creative platform for visual expression that was as inclusive as possible. We created a space for young people to showcase and write about their work with confidence. We championed different ways of creating and thinking about art. And we created this amazing showcase for the creativity of Ireland’s young people, with an online gallery and archive that tells the story of their time and experience.