creative classroom award

SPONSORED BY:

As part of National Treasures, an exhibition programme marking 200 years of the National Gallery in London, the Ulster Museum is launching the Creative Classroom Award, sponsored by EY. This brand new, free-to-enter art prize for primary school-age children (4-11-year-olds) will encourage art-making in the classroom and reward the combined creative efforts of a whole class!

Not only will the winning artworks be exhibited in a special display in Discover Art at the museum, but the winners will also get an all-expenses paid trip to see the 'Caravaggio in Belfast' exhibition that inspired this schools competition - for the entire class - at the Ulster Museum in June.

Eligibility

Primary school teachers and teachers in Special schools (of children aged 4-11) in Northern Ireland are eligible to enter, on behalf of their class. Only one entry is permitted per class.

There are four prize-winning categories:

Foundation Stage
Key Stage 1
Key Stage 2
SEND class (Primary)

Choose ONE of the two options below to enter:

Option A

Individual artworks from pupils in your class, mounted together on ONE sheet of paper or card, which is no bigger than A0.

Option B

A single artwork made collaboratively by your class, on paper or card no bigger than A0.

Submission Guidelines

The judges are looking for lively and creative submissions, showing personality and energy in colour, line, form and composition. Any 2D medium, such as pencil, paint, ink, colouring pens, chalk, pastel, collage, print, (but not including photography) or a combination of any of the above is welcome.

A close up of a Caravaggio painting showing the fruit bowl on the edge of a table draped in white table cloth.

Theme: Still life

This includes images of ordinary objects which are either natural - such as food, flowers, plants, rocks, shells, or artificial ones - such as books, vases, jewellery, bowls, teddy bears or toys. Or anything you might find on a table!

Prize

Winning entries will be displayed in the Ulster Museum throughout the summer of 2024.
The winning classes will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Ulster Museum in June 2024.
The teacher will receive a set of creative resources for their class.

How to submit

It is free to enter.
Teachers should fill out the online entry form via the button below and when your submission(s) is ready, it should be photographed and emailed as an attachment to: education@nationalmuseumsni.org.

Online Entry Form

Key Dates:

Monday 8th April - Submissions open.

Wednesday 15th May – Submissions close. No entries received after this date will be eligible.

Friday 24th May - Winners announced.

Children must be aged 4-11.
Entries are only accepted by sending a digital image by email. Prize winners will be asked to submit the original artworks.
We only accept one entry per class, but there is no limit to the number of classes that can enter from each school.
We do not accept individual entries from pupils or parents.
The recommended size for all submissions is no bigger than A0, or 84.1 cm x 118.9 cm (please read submission options under ‘Eligibility’ section above). Submissions larger than this will not be eligible.

AS PART OF:

Lead Image Credits: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus, 1601. Presented by the Hon. George Vernon, 1839 © The National Gallery, London.

Body Image Credits: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus, 1601. Presented by the Hon. George Vernon, 1839 © The National Gallery, London.