Children and young people’s artwork from across Merseyside has been celebrated at a prize giving and now features in an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery.

The overall winners of the dot-art Schools art competition were announced and celebrated at a special event held in the stunning Concert room at St George’s Hall.

Primary year 5 and secondary year 9 pupils from 76 schools across the Liverpool City Region and beyond took part in the inter-school art competition run with support from key partner Edge Hill University.

The winning artworks from each school are now on display in the dot-art Schools 2023 exhibition at the iconic Walker Art Gallery from Wednesday 21 June to Sunday 2 July, 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday and it’s free to visit.

The winners are:

Primary

1. Overall Primary Winner is “Wildflower Meadow” by Archie Kent from Bridgemere CE Primary School.
2. First runner-up is “Blossom Sky” by Esmae O’Shaughnessy from Roby Park Primary School
3. Second runner-up is “Blood Bag 8” by Chloe Stewart from Knotty Ash Primary School.

Secondary

1. Overall Secondary Winner is “Landscape 18” by Isaac Turner from Wirral Grammar School for Boys.
2. First runner-up is “Amongst the Trees” by Maisey Spinks from Saint Julie’s Catholic High School
3. Second runner-up is “Ordinary People 3” by Ella Robinson from North Liverpool Academy.

The awards were shortlisted by an expert panel, followed by an online public vote then the overall winners were decided by guest judge Susan M Coles, past president and member of council of NSEAD, (National Society for Education in Art & Design) secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Art, Craft and Design Education. The whole event was run with support from student interns from Edge Hill University.

Carolyn Murray, dot-art Schools project manager, said: “We’ve been running the competition for over a decade, we’ve seen it go from strength to strength, and the smiles on the faces of young people and their parents, guardians, and teachers speak for themselves.

“The standard this year has been absolutely incredible. You can really see how taking part in the competition encourages these young people to express themselves and put their all into a piece of stunning artwork.

“I hope all our amazing winners continue to pursue their passion for art, and who knows, one day their artwork could be hanging in the Walker Gallery again.”

Lucy Johnson, Head of Art Gallery Exhibitions at National Museums Liverpool, said: “It has been fantastic to see such a wide variety of artwork from this year’s entrants, and we’re so pleased to see such enthusiasm from the young people who are exhibiting here at the Walker Art Gallery.

“The standard of entries this year is incredible, and I hope that exhibiting here at the gallery gives the entrants the motivation they need to follow their passion for art.”

As a national leader in high-quality teacher training and education research, Edge Hill acts as the perfect project partner, providing dot-art Schools with greater access to schools in the region and supporting it in its key aims of promoting creativity and good mental health.

Dr Helen O’Keeffe, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education, said: “Our fantastic partnership with dot-art has helped to promote our values of embracing the arts, getting creative, and looking after children’s mental health in schools across the region, all things that are key to our curriculum here at the University. As well as sponsoring the competition we funded 10 local schools’ entrance fees so they could join in the fun.”

“I’d encourage everyone to visit the exhibition to see the young people’s creativity and incredible talents for themselves.”

Established back in 2012, dot-art Schools’ impact has grown each year, with over 700 schools participating to date, and over 10,000 young artists having entered their artwork.

To find out more about dot-art Schools and how your school can get involved, please contact Carolyn Murray on 0345 017 6660 or Carolyn.murray@dot-art.com.

To discover more about Edge Hill’s courses, visit ehu.ac.uk/study.