Bursting with colour, expression and individuality, more than 50 exhibited artworks at Birmingham’s RBSA Gallery prove a point made famous by Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up”. Young, talented makers, aged 4 to 17, are being celebrated in the inaugural Young Artists Prize this summer.
A few weeks ago, I was honoured to join a panel of selectors, which included RBSA President and notable artist Ed Isaacs PRBSA, and Karolina Korupczynska, Director of Stryx Gallery, who is also a Birmingham-based artist. Together, we spent a day reviewing entries across 4 separate age categories: 4 – 6, 7 – 10, 11 – 14, and 15 – 17 years old.
It’s by far the most fun I’ve had judging an art competition, which was free to enter for children from across the city of Birmingham, Sandwell District, Solihull, Wolverhampton, and Dudley. Children were invited to submit work in any 2D media, excluding photography and digital work, with a focus on imagination.
The children’s imagination is what amazed us judges most. At a time when we are being told that young people are glued to screens, it’s clear that many are still playing with pens and paper, brushes and paint, as a way of bringing their own ideas to life.
Natural, uninhibited creativity swirls in the youngest of the selected artists’ bold splatters, dramatic lines and delightful colour combinations. In the brilliantly titled ‘Catty Catty Miaow’ by Florence Eaton, a pet’s tracks have been transformed into rhythmic gestures to rival Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionist canvases.
Meanwhile, Dia Sashivarnan has depicted a green parrot surrounded on all sides by contrasting hues of warm peach. It’s a striking pastel portrait of the bird, as well as a daring exploration of flat colour fields.
Reviewing the next age category, we judges were struck by the levels of maturity among the 7-10 year olds, with Ed Isaacs responding to a particularly strong painting: “That could certainly be included in one of our member exhibitions”. When looking at contemporary art in a gallery, many of us will have heard the expression, “My 5 year old could have made that”. This exhibition turns that refrain on its head, asking instead: could an adult have created this?
By aged 7, several of the artists had begun to employ symbolism and metaphor. We were moved by Yan Mon Lai’s impressionistic portrayal of a small, solitary figure journeying in a boat along a river. Back turned to viewer, the child is about to enter a dark, portal-like tunnel in the thoughtfully-titled ‘Brave to grow’.
We were also impressed by more developed techniques, from shading to perspective, among the oldest of the young artists. Two whales have been depicted in detail, with brilliant touches of light and shadow, among more expressive and watery washes, in Adelina Chan’s ‘Voyage of the blue’.
Reflections on identity are also in the frame thanks to impressive portraits by the likes of Yara Wahja, whose sitter is positioned below a barcode, questioning human classification with a powerful message. In contrast, there’s a more surreal and humorous quality to the astronaut-helmet wearing, suited figure in Felicity Barnfield’s ‘Lost in space’.
Thanks to generous sponsorship from Cass Art, prizes will be given to an overall winner in every age group. But, more importantly, this competition has provided an opportunity for young people to experience what it’s like to be an artist, with the chance to exhibit their artwork in an established art gallery.
Given the high number of entries, we didn’t have space for every submission on the RBSA Gallery’s walls. However, viewers will be able to find all other artworks at Stryx Gallery, which is just a few minutes’ walk away in the Jewellery Quarter.
Through this inspiring initiative, the RBSA hopes to break down perceived barriers to allow more people to enjoy and access art. As Marketing Manager Claire Riley says:
‘We’re really thrilled that we’re able to hold the first ever RBSA Young Artists Prize. We’re very aware that art and galleries can feel very inaccessible, particularly to young people, and so to be able to bring them in and show them that they are welcome and can get involved is really important.
The Society and the Gallery would not exist if it weren’t for its artists and the children who have entered this competition may well make up our membership in 10 or 20 years. We wanted to make sure that every piece of work submitted is exhibited and so for Stryx to host a sister exhibition is really exciting. Who knows, a future Turner Prize winner may have work on our walls at the end of the month!”
Free to visit, the Young Artist Prize runs from Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 August at the RBSA Gallery, with a sister exhibition at Stryx Gallery in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
