Young talent in the form of art

by Danijel Pogorevc

The city of Slovenj Gradec is very much aware of the importance of culture. For that reason it hosts
many events, to bring culture closer to everyday people. One of these events is the annual exhibition
of »the competition for creative children’s artistic and literary work and photography«.

The Exhibition

Every year the Koroska gallery of fine arts in Slovenj Gradec hosts an artistic competition labelled »the competition for creative children’s artistic and literary work and photography«. In the competition, elementary schoolers from all over Slovenia submit their art, literary work and photographs. Those pieces of work are based on three topics related to current social problems. At least one of those topics is related to the subject of the International year, which is decided by the UN. The submited works are then judged by a group of juries. Each branch of the competition (so art, literature and photography) gets their own group of experts to decide which of the submited works will be included in the exhibition, and which of the works will be rewarded. More information about the competition  is available on the following link.                                                                                  [2. ]

https://www.slovenjgradec.si/DesktopModules/EasyDNNNews/DocumentDownload.ashx?portalid=0&moduleid=663&articleid=8855&documentid=4660

This year’s exhibition took place in accordance with »the thirtieth competition for creative children’s artistic and literary work and photography« It took place from September 16, 2022- September 25, 2022 in the Koroska gallery of fine arts in Slovenj Gradec and there was no entrance fee. The year 2022 was declared to be the International year of fishing and aquaculture, glass , and basic sciences for sustainable development. All of the works this year are therefore based on one of these three topics. This year, there were 46 elementary schools and institutions, that joined the competition. The jury that was tasked with judging the artwork, chose 505 works to be presented at the exhibition, 10 of which were awarded. While judging the works, the jury took into consideration the originality of the artwork, the ability to interpret the chosen topic, and the quality of the chosen art technique. On the other hand, the jury tasked with judging the photographs, chose 127 photographs for the exhibition, 7 of which were awarded. [1. ]

Thoughts

When looking through the gallery I could not believe that some of these artworks were made by elementary schoolers.That is why I am convinced, that we should encourage everyone with talent in the field of art to show and master their skills. One of the ways to do that is by hosting exhibitions, which is why I believe that events like these are important and should be held in high regard. I also think that making the competition centered around current social problems helps raise self- awareness, and even promotes finding solutions to these problems. Taking all of this in consideration can help us raise a thoughtful generation, that will be able to build a secure future.

In summary, the exhibition was a wonder to see. and I would recommend it to anyone who likes art, or is interested in seeing what even the younger generation can achieve. I fully support the idea of such competitions and exhibitions, and will be looking forward to seeing more in the future.