If ancient people provided significant images of their lives painted on clay vases, what would you choose to leave as footprint to future generations?
The Museum of Cycladic Art presents the 11th International Kids’ Art Contest under the title “Today’s stories on ancient vases”, inviting children aged 4-15 to draw images of their everyday lives that they would like to leave as a personal footprint to future generations.
The International Kids’ Art Contest was launched in 2013 with the aim of giving the opportunity to children and young people (pre-school students of all grades of primary and secondary school as well as special schools of primary and secondary education) to get to know the Museum of Cycladic Art and at the same time to develop their imagination.
This year’s contest started on February 15 and it ends on April 22, 2024 while the children’s artwork will be presented in September 2024 as part of the major exhibition during the 2nd Cycladic Kids Festival. The International Kids’ Art Contest is one of the most successful initiatives of the Museum of Cycladic Art where thousands of children from Greece and abroad participate every year, special schools and refugee reception and integration centers. This year the Art Contest invites participants to explore the permanent exhibition “Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity” located on the 4th floor of the Museum of Cycladic Art, and learn about the various themes and objects exhibited, and thus about the private and public life of ancient people in Classical and Hellenistic Greece.
Painted clay vases Among are among today’s richest sources of information about antiquity. Since prehistoric times, people depicted on these vases images of their everyday lives and scenes from mythology. Today, we find similar images mainly through internet and social media.
In this year’s Kids’ Art Contest, children are invited to recreate a scene from their everyday life, using painting, collage, photography or mixed media and include their creation into the vase outline, thinking on questions such as “What would you like people to know about your life? What do you choose to share with others? Which images are the most typical of your life and era?”
The Contest’s results will be announced in June, just before the school year ends.
Members of this year’s jury:
Nikos Aliagas – Journalist / Photographer
Panos Giannikopoulos – Curator of Contemporary Art
Nadia Kontogeorgi – Actress
Theodoros Papakostas – Archaeologist
Erato Hatzisavva – Rector of the Athens School of Fine Arts
Heidi Holder – Chair of Education at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In order to participate in the Contest, children should follow the steps described below:
[1] Download the template and print it on A4 paper size.
[2] Choose the materials, colors, and technique and create a Daily Life scene within the vase outline. (collage, photography, or mixed media may be used)
[3] Scan the artwork in color and high resolution.
[4] Ask an adult to fill in the details in the entry form and upload their work to https://kidscontest.cycladic.gr/en/ by April 22, 2024. The file size should not exceed 5 MB.
[5] To participate at the exhibition organized in September within the framework of the 2nd Cycladic Kids’ Festival, it is further required to send the original artwork by post to the Museum of Cycladic Art by May 31, 2024:
Museum of Cycladic Art, 4 Neophytou Douka Street, 10676 Athens
To the Attention of the Kids’ Art Contest
The online submission process should be done for each project separately. Each child or adult must fill in the entry form, attach their project electronically and receive a unique code. Works sent by post without having received a code will not take part in the process.
[6] Each person can only submit one single drawing.
The 11th International Kids’ Art Contest and the digital platform kidscontest.cycladic.gr/en are implemented with the support of Eurolife FFH, Strategic Partner of the Museum of Cycladic Art and RAYCAP, Supporter of the Educational Programs of the Museum of Cycladic Art. The International Kids’ Art Contest is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Children and young people from the Greek Diaspora had a had very high participation rate in last year’s competition themed “The Human Being at the Center”, thanks to the mobilization of the authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs abroad: The 2023 Competition received a total of 19,500 entries, with 900 coming from abroad – 42 were distinguished and passed on to the next round. The winners included children’s projects from the UK, Cyprus and Sweden.
For questions and additional information about the International Kids’ Art Contest you can visit: https://kidscontest.cycladic.gr/en/ Read also via Greek News Agenda: 1st Cycladic Kids Festival; Cycladic Identity: keeping alive the heart of the Cyclades
