Trust-wide Art Competition
Lincolnshire Gateway Academies Trust have held a Trust-wide competition across all of its primary and secondary academies to decorate the walls of the new building of the Trust Central services.
Students from its four secondary and three primary schools were invited to submit their entries to the competition to be judged by a panel including the CEO and local artists.
In June 2023, the main Trust offices moved to a new building in Louth, on the site of Louth Academy Lower Campus, and was aptly named Gateway House.
The building was renovated and is now the home of the central services across the Trust including HR, Finance, IT and Administration. The renovation presented the Trust with a lot of blank walls to work with and it was agreed that the best decoration is the artwork of their very own students, displaying the talents and personalities of our Academies.
The competition was open to all ages and year groups form nursery right up to Sixth Form and the general theme was centred around ‘Living in Lincolnshire’ to celebrate each of our Academies and their bases across the wider region.
Students across the Trust then spent the Spring term completing their work and submitted it around Easter time. They had a broad brief which saw lots of different art styles emerging such as textiles, drawing, painting and photography.
Once the winners have been chosen and finalised, the Trust aims to host an awards evening and unveil the winning artwork on the walls of Gateway House. This event will invite all of the winning students, their families, Art Leaders and Trustees to see the finished products.
The judging panel consisted of CEO for the Trust, Martin Brown; Vice Chair of the Board, Jane Aukett; PA to the CEO, Kirstine Revell and Administrative Assistant, Billie Kingswood. In addition, we were delighted to be joined by two local Lincolnshire-based artists, Rachel Porter and Sarah Palmer, who kindly gave up their time to share their knowledge and expertise, hoping to inspire the next generation of enthusiastic artists for the Lincolnshire region.
PA to the CEO Kirstine Revell said: “It was wonderful to see all the beautiful artwork the children have done, ranging from Nursery to GCSE students. There was lots of colour on show and some fantastic representations of the theme ‘Living in Lincolnshire’, including Cleethorpes beach, the dock tower, the red arrows, Lincoln cathedral, tractors, Lincolnshire wildlife and scenery. It was a pleasure to be involved in the judging and it is clear to see the immense amount of work the children have put into the artwork.”
Rachel Porter added: “There is a fantastic range of work seen from all of the schools and it was clear to see the enthusiasm and commitment that had gone into the work they had submitted. I very much look forward to seeing the winning pieces framed and on display within the Trust.”
Vice Chair of the Board Jane Aukett said: “I was particularly impressed by the wide range of subject matter, styles, mediums and innovation on show, together with the understanding across the age range as to how to use colour or pattern to great impact. The standard of the artwork was such that judges commented that we saw pieces that we would happily display on our walls, but what was evident throughout was the enthusiasm of the students.”
