A group of seven talented young artists from across Derbyshire have been crowned as Derbyshire Young Artists of the Year 2021. Winners of the annual Chesterfield College competition, were announced following a virtual exhibition and online vote. Hundreds of people logged on to see the stunning collection of work submitted and vote for their favourite masterpiece.
Now in its fifth year, the competition which is designed above all to showcase the creative talent of young people aged between the age of 8 and 18, saw a very high standard and number of entries. This year, artists were invited to enter paintings, collages, illustrations, photography or sculpture on the theme of ‘The power of creativity’.
See the winning entries
Congratulations to each of the winners of each category! Take a look at their winning entries below.
- Amy Richards, 17 – 15-18 visual arts category
- Emily Machin, 15 and Yasmin Clark, 16 – were joint winners of the Age 15 -18 Photography category
- Grace Kershaw, 13 – Age 12-14 Visual Arts
- Yasmin Dyer, 14 – Age 12-14 Photography
- Isabelle Sanderson, 11 – Age 8-11 Visual Arts
- Rory Deakin, 8 – Age 8-11 Photography
Emily Machin, age 15, was a joint winner of the 15-18 photography category. She told us more about her piece and why being creative is so important. She said:
“I really like the technique of light-writing in photography, using long exposure. I tried out a few shots of cars but wanted to do something different so in the end I focused on buses and trains. Being creative, for me, is important as it means being able to create and do anything you want, it’s a way of expressing yourself.”
The winner of the age 8-11 photography category, Rory Deakin, age 8, entered a photograph of his mum. It really impressed the voters. In particular, he told us more about how he created the winning image and how he has become such a good photographer.
“I really enjoyed this photography project. My mum often takes me out for photography shoots and I’ve learned a lot from her. I’ve learned that light is really important and I had lots of fun trying out different ways of lighting my mum for my photo entry, in the end we used net curtain!”
Praise for all Young Artist entrants
Everyone who took part in the competition was praised by the college for their creative approach to the brief.
Julie Richards Principal and Chief Executive Officer at Chesterfield College met some of the winners and presented prizes to them. She said:
“Congratulations to all the winners of the competition this year. We continue to be impressed by the standard of work produced every year. To all of those who entered but didn’t win on this occasion, we really hope to see your entries next year. It is wonderful to see your work. Derbyshire truly is a spectacularly creative county. We are so proud to give you this opportunity to showcase your talents.”
See the Young Artist of the Year and arts festival exhibitions
You can still see all of the entries in the virtual Young Artist of the Year exhibition here https://www.chesterfield.ac.uk/yaoty/.
The Young Artist of the Year competition is an important part of Chesterfield College’s annual arts festival. The festival is a celebration of the creative talent of students studying on the wide range of creative courses on offer at the college. You can also view the virtual arts festival exhibition of visual arts, fashion, graphic design and digital technologies students here https://www.chesterfield.ac.uk/artsfestival/.
