University of Northampton launches School Arts competition to find Northamptonshire’s finest young artistic talent

The University of Northampton’s Fine Arts department are hoping to find Northampton’s brightest young artistic talent by holding a School Arts competition open to sixth form pupils across the county.

Competition entries are invited in three main categories, each with a first prize of £500, second prize of £250 and a third prize of £100.

The categories are:

• The Ocee Prize for Drawing: including figurative, observational, analytical, expressive, experimental and digital work
• The Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Fine Art: including painting, sculpture, printmaking, performance and video/sound art.
• The School of The Arts Prize for Digital and New Media

The judging panel will also select an overall winner from the three category winners who will receive an additional £500 for their School, plus a trophy. Selected work will be exhibited at the University’s Avenue Gallery from 12-21 January.

Event organiser Dr Ralph Darbyshire, Subject Leader for Fine Art at the University of Northampton, commented: “This annual competition is intended to reinforce the School of The Arts at The University of Northampton as being a natural haven, or bolt-hole for creative energy in and around Northamptonshire. Schools are our essential partners and collaborators and we want to illustrate our support and commitment to those pupils and teachers who find ways to demonstrate their artistic passions in circumstances that can at times be anything but ideal or conducive.”

Budding artists do not have long to get their entries in; the competition closes on 6 January.

For further information, click here to view the competition poster, the application form and entry guidelines​.