Students between the ages 13 to 19 in Dominica and other seven member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Central bank (ECCB), are being given the opportunity to compete for $26,000.00 in prizes in a subregional art competition to be held in 2020.
The ECCB Creative Youth Competition, which is organized in collaboration with the Regional Security System Asset Recovery Unit (RSS ARU) will focus on art in 2020.
The competition is designed to allow students to demonstrate their creativity, critical thinking skills and talents through various genres including essay writing, poetry, songwriting and art.
This year, students who wish to participate in the art contest will be required to prepare a piece on one of the following topics:
- Recycling: Waste Management for an Eco-friendly Region
- Cultural Awareness: Keeping Our Culture Alive
- Combatting Crime through Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery
The topics were selected in collaboration with secondary school teachers and artists across the ECCB member countries.
The entries will be judged in two age categories: 13 to 16 and 17 to 19, and will be assessed for creativity and originality, quality and execution, adherence to the selected topic/clarity, use of medium and overall impression and freedom of expression.
Cash prizes, tokens and trophies amounting to $26,000.00 will be awarded to the top three winners and their respective schools and teacher mentors.
The entries for the 2020 ECCB Creative Youth Competition must be submitted to the ECCB Headquarters or the Bank’s Agency Offices in the respective member countries, no later than 31 March 2020.
Where can I obtain more information?
As someone who has constantly advocated for more attention to be given to the visual arts, especially in schools, I am pleased that the ECCB Creative Youth Competition will focus on art in 2020.
I am however surprised that the topics, selected in collaboration with secondary school teachers and artists across the ECCB member countries, are not the best to allow students to demonstrate their creativity, critical thinking skills and talents. Art does function at its best when restricted to adherence to selected topics, unless that is, the judges themselves can be open minded in interpreting those topics.
I can image that a painting depicting creole dress would be judge favourably, whereas a painting that challenges the influence of estate owners European Culture on Caribbean Cultural Heritage would fair less well.