Latest News
Winners of the Rotary Club Young Artist of the Year competition 2018
Tuesday, 18 December, 2018 — See the winners of the Plymouth Rotary Club’s annual competition for young artists, which has celebrated the wealth of creative talent from across the city's schools for over 20 years.
<h5>Sofia Bouqdir from <a href="https://plymstockschool.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymstock School</a>, along with Rachel Zanetti and Izzy Hicks from <a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>, have each been awarded first prize for their respective age groups in a ceremony held at Plymouth College of Art for the Rotary Club of Plymouth’s Young Artist of the Year 2018 competition.</h5>
First Prize Winners. Work by Sofia Bouqdir, Izzy Hicks, and Rachel Zanetti.
<p>Additionally, this year for the first time thanks to support from The Clemas Trust, students from the Quay Partnership of specialist schools participated, with prizes awarded to Sydney Terrell from <a href="http://www.brookgreen.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brook Green Centre for Learning</a>, plus Toby Vogel and William Birch from <a href="http://www.longcausespecialschool.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Longcause Community Special School</a>.<br /><br />Judged by Rotarian and artist Graham Steen and Matias Shortcook, Associate Dean of <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/study/pre-degree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pre-Degree</a> at Plymouth College of Art, the Rotary Club’s annual competition for young artists has celebrated the wealth of creative talent from across the city's schools for over 20 years. An exhibition of the student work was on display in Plymouth College of Art for the week of the awards ceremony.</p>
"Winning this prize has made me feel really validated. I didn't actually submit my work myself, my teacher sent it in for me, but it is so encouraging to receive this prize, and it has motivated me to paint more."
Highly Commended Pieces. Work by a group from Devonport Highschool for Girls, Katie Baker, Phoebe Hodge, and Tess Harland.
<p>Stage 5 First Prize winner, Sofia, said: “I love studying the human form, but I have struggled with painting portraits, so this has made me feel like giving portraits another go. I am looking to pursue a career in animation; I love classic 2D animations, like Ghost in The Shell, and The Thief and the Cobbler.”</p>
<p>Open to all students in secondary education across Plymouth, the Young Artist of the Year competition has three categories: Years 7-9, Years 10-11, and sixth form. Acting as a showcase of budding creative talent across the city and an opportunity for young artists to network with active members of the art world, the awards ceremony this year also featured an inspirational talk from Nigel Hurst, Head of Contemporary Arts at <a href="https://www.theboxplymouth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Box</a> and former director and CEO of London's Saatchi Gallery.</p>
<p>Addressing students and their families, Nigel Hurst said: “The Rotary Club Young Artist of the Year prize is testament to the huge amount of work that art departments do, both in Plymouth and across the UK, and the amazing inspiration and encouragement that teachers give their students. This competition is a wonderful platform for talent across the city, and I'm really impressed by the calibre of the artworks.”<br /></p>
“People judging competitions sometimes say they wish that they could give everyone a prize, and it’s true. I feel the same way. Because what you have done is something very brave. You’ve made something that never existed before, and had the bravery to show it to the world. Many artists never make it this far."
Second Prize winning pieces. Work by Cameron Rush, Daisy Rushton, Olivia Prideaux
<p>Phil Paynter, President of the Rotary Club, said: “The Rotary Club of Plymouth is very pleased to support young artists from secondary schools in Plymouth. We are especially pleased after running the competition for over 20 years that we are now able to extend the competition to the Quay Partnership of specialist schools in Plymouth."<br /></p>
<p>Students from a variety of schools across Plymouth participated, including <a href="https://www.asap.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">All Saints Church of England Academy</a>, <a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>, <a href="http://www.eggbuckland.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eggbuckland Community College</a>, <a href="https://www.lipsonco-operativeacademy.coop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lipson Co-operative Academy</a>, <a href="http://www.marineacademy.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marine Academy Plymouth</a>, <a href="http://www.ndonline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Notre Dame School</a>, <a href="http://www.plymouthcollege.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth College</a>, <a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>, Plympton Academy, <a href="https://plymstockschool.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymstock School</a>, <a href="https://plymouthschoolofcreativearts.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth School of Creative Arts</a> and <a href="https://www.sdcc.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stoke Damerel Community College</a>.</p>
<p>The full list of prize winners on the night are as follows:</p>
<p><strong>Stage 3</strong><br /><br />First prize - Rachel Zanetti (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Second prize - Cameron Rush (<a href="https://plymouthschoolofcreativearts.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth School of Creative Arts</a>)<br /><br />Third prize - Freya Lavis (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Highly commended - Ines Hannon (<a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>), George Hayward (<a href="http://www.plymouthcollege.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth College</a>) and a group from <a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Stage 4</strong><br /><br />First prize - Izzy Hicks (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Second prize - Daisy Rushton (<a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Third prize - Ben Wright (<a href="http://www.plymouthcollege.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth College</a>)<br /><br />Highly commended - Katie Baker (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>), Flora Dewar (<a href="http://www.ndonline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Notre Dame School</a>), Talia Sullivan (<a href="http://www.plymouthcollege.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth College</a>), Casey Fernandes (<a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>) and Tess Harland (<a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>).</p>
Third Prize Pieces. Work by Ben Wright, Freya Lavis, Yujin Choi
<p><strong>Stage 5</strong><br /><br />First prize - Sofia Bouqdir (<a href="https://plymstockschool.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymstock School</a>)<br /><br />Second prize - Olivia Prideaux (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Third prize - Yujin Choi (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>)<br /><br />Highly commended - Phoebe Hodge (<a href="https://www.dhsg.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devonport High School for Girls</a>), Lauren Bonner (<a href="http://www.eggbuckland.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eggbuckland Community College</a>) and Victoria Salter (<a href="http://www.phsg.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plymouth High School for Girls</a>).<br /></p>
Quay Prize winning pieces. Work by Toby Vogel, William Birch.
<p><strong>Quay Partnership Plymouth</strong><br /><br />Quay prize - Sydney Terrell (<a href="http://www.brookgreen.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brook Green Centre for Learning</a>)<br /><br />Quay prize - Toby Vogel (<a href="http://www.longcausespecialschool.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Longcause Community Special School</a>)<br /><br />Quay prize - William Birch (<a href="http://www.longcausespecialschool.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Longcause Community Special School</a>)<br /><br />Highly commended - Adam Sharp (<a href="http://www.longcausespecialschool.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Longcause Community Special School</a>)</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/study/pre-degree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aged 16+ and interested in creative equivalents to A-Levels?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/high-demand-for-saturday-arts-club" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Find out more about our Saturday Arts courses for young people</a></li></ul>
