Winners have been announced for the 2020 Maltings Art Prize, on the theme of ‘History of St Albans’.
The competition saw school pupils aged four to 16 from 13 local schools compete for the chance to win a cash prize of £1,000 for their school’s art department and a £250 cash prize for the overall winner.
Over 300 pieces of art were entered into the competition, and 40 works were shortlisted by a panel of judges including: Phil Corrigan, Centre Manager of Maltings Shopping Centre, Councillor Annie Brewster, Kerry Cobb, breakfast presenter on Radio Verulam and St Albans artist Ben Askem.
Medals and trophies were delivered to the individual schools and the winning students were presented with personalised trophies and finalists medals by their tutors. An outdoor presentation was organised for the overall winning school, Loreto College, with art and DT teacher Katy Jaques and headteacher Mrs Lynch. In attendance was Phil Corrigan, who presented the overall winning student and the schools art department with their awards and giant cheques.
The individual winners are Phoebe Williams (Cunningham Hill Infant School), Rosie Bomphrey (Oakwood Primary School), Lily Bedwood (Sandringham School) and Gabriella Di Gregorio (Loreto College). A special merit prize was awarded to C Winch from Park Street Primary School.
Gabriella was crowned the overall winner for her moody painting of ‘A St Albans Roman Soldier’. Gabriella was crowned the overall winner for her moody painting, ‘A St Albans Roman Soldier’. Gabriella was “delighted” as she received her trophy and cheque for £250. Staff from the art department accepted the £1,000 cheque, which they intend to spend on print equipment. As a final surprise, Gabriella’s artwork is to be mounted and framed.
Phil Corrigan said: “I would like to congratulate everyone who took part in the competition, as you can imagine we had a very difficult time choosing the winners. The awards ceremonies were quite different to last year however it was fantastic that were allowed into the grounds of Loreto College for the main presentation. I hope this competition inspires students to think about art and it is great to see such a variety of art and design in St Albans schools.”
The artwork can be viewed on screen at St Albans Museum + Gallery until the end of the year, with the centre planning to hold a public exhibition to display the original pieces.
Phil Corrigan added on behalf of Maltings Shopping centre: “Well done to all of the schools for taking part and inspiring their budding young artists to get involved. Congratulations to our winners for 2020 and a huge thank you to all the children and their teachers, I look forward to the Maltings Art Prize 2021!”
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