EXHIBITION 2026

dot-art Schools 2026 exhibition

This year, 1,582 students’ artworks were submitted by 89 primary, secondary and SEND schools across the Liverpool City Region.

A judging panel of arts professionals shortlisted three entries from each school, and a record 7,600 public votes were cast to decide which artworks made the exhibition. The panel includes David Al-Hadithi, Creative Director of Springboard Advertising & Media who are also headline sponsor this year, Claire Benjamin, Head of Learning & Participation at National Museums Liverpool, Steph Leach, Senior Lecturer in Primary Education and the Art & Design Lead at Edge Hill University, Tina Ramos Ekongo, an award winning figurative visual artist and workshop facilitator, and Kristy Vidamour a Milan-based fashion designer and multidisciplinary artist originally from Liverpool, who won a dot-art Schools award herself in 2014 – making her return as a judge a full-circle moment.

Our guest judge is Adele Darlington, ex primary teacher, author and education consultant who selected the overall winners and runners up from the exhibition.

In this 14th year of the competition, held in partnership with Springboard Advertising & Media we return to exhibit the winning artworks in the ‘flat’ temporary space upstairs in the Walker Art Gallery.  See the stunning artworks by each student winner from the participating schools. Almost 90 original artworks are on show, including drawing, printmaking, painting and collage exploring themes from landscape, abstraction and portraiture to issue-based pieces.

Young visitors are invited to take part in a “Draw your Rights” drawing activity, adding their own work in response to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to a Mini Gallery that grows throughout the exhibition.

The two rights we highlight for this activity are:

Article 13. Sharing thoughts freely

Children have the right to share freely with others what they learn, think and feel, by talking, drawing, writing or in any other way unless it harms other people.  We invite young visitors to “Draw your face showing how you feel right now”

Article 31. Rest, play, culture, arts

Every child has the right to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities. We invite young visitors to “Draw yourself doing a creative activity (music, dance, art)”

The dot-art Schools 2026 Exhibition is free and open to the public at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool from Thursday 4th June through Sunday 5th July 2026. Open daily 10am–5pm (closed Mondays).