2021 Competition - YouCreate: Culture
Applications are now open for young designers and creatives from Kent and Medway to enter our new 2021 YouCreate Competition!
This year’s theme is ‘CULTURE’. Your challenge is to think creatively when exploring what culture means to you.
Artwork can be submitted in any medium, from film and photography, to sculpture or painting.
The YouCreate Competition is open to students who are aged 13-18 years, living in Kent and Medway.
This year, we're awarding more prizes than ever before, including a MacBook laptop and your chance to be exhibited at UCA, the UK’s number one specialist university for the creative industries.
Prizes:
- 1st Prize - Apple MacBook laptop, one year's membership to a local museum or gallery and a travel bursary to help you visit
- 2nd Prize - Apple iPad
- 3rd Prize - One year's subscription to Adobe Photoshop
- Public Vote Prize - SLR Camera, one year's membership to a local museum or gallery and a travel bursary to help you visit
- Youth Vote Prize - Art Pack including creative materials and equipment.
Full terms and conditions are available to view here.
To help you create your entry, why not use some of the below as inspiration for your interpretation of 'Culture'?
Culture (noun) - 'WAY OF LIFE':
- Youth Culture
- Popular Culture
- Punk Culture
- Art and Design Culture
- Urban Culture
- Digital Culture
- Cultural Change
- Culture Vulture
Culture (noun) - 'GROWING':
- Living Things
- Cells, Tissues, Organs
- Organisms / Micro-organisms
- Artificial environments
- Bacteria
- Mutation
- Evolution
If you are a teacher or community leader from a KaMCOP Partner School, College or Community Group, and would like to organise a virtual workshop to help your young people create entries for the competition, please email: kamcop@uca.ac.uk.
To download a printable poster to promote the competition in your school/college/youth group please click here, or get in touch as we will be happy to post one to you.
2020 Competition - YouCreate: Change
Last year's YouCreate Competition, based on the theme of Change, saw over 120 entries from schools and colleges across Kent and Medway present their artwork through film, sculpture, collage, poetry, paintings, textiles and photography. 'Change' has been a huge part of our lives in these past few months, and all entries to the competition showed just how important creativity is in these strange and unusual times.
“The standard of the entries was outstanding and showcased the breadth of creative talent that young people in Kent and Medway have to offer. The entrants responded to the theme of Change in a variety of media and in the currently challenging times, it is wonderful to see how art can be used to address and reflect on personal lives in such moving and thought-provoking ways,” said Terry Perk, UCA Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic) and Head of School Of Fine Art and Photography
Congratulations to the prize winners:
- 1st Prize – Rosie Taylor
- 2nd Prize – Adele Clarke
- 3rd Prize - Victoria Hussey
- Public vote winner - Shannon Gregory
Entries were judged by a panel of creative professionals including:
- Terry Perk – Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic) and Head of School of Fine Art and Photography, University for the Creative Arts
- Liz Moran – Director of Arts and Culture, University of Kent
- Jon Schwochert – Creative Workshop Tutor, University for the Creative Arts
- Elizabeth Whibley - Creative Workshop Tutor, University for the Creative Arts
- Louise Mayell - Creative Workshop Tutor, University for the Creative Arts
- David Rabin – Ambassador, University for the Creative Arts, and winner of YouCreate competition 2018.
2020 Winners - YouCreate: Change
1st Place 2020
'Abandoned Economy' by Rosie Taylor, Herne Bay High School
In my artwork society has inhabited themselves on floating islands, above the apocalyptic ground. They have also preserved nature on these islands. In my piece I wanted to show that High Income Countries ‘live above’ poor countries. I wanted to reflect on how our actions such as littering and greenhouse gas emissions impact other parts of the world and how we, as HICs, don’t see it. The girl and dog in my image show how these countries don’t have a lot and rely on each other. Furthermore, I wanted to show how our future may change if we continue to be careless.
2nd Place 2020
'Burning, Melting, Changing' by Adèle Clarke, Wilmington Academy
This is a visual representation of the idea that people change over time, created using acrylic paint and collage.
3rd Place 2020
'Modern Renaissance' by Victoria Hussey, Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre
My image is a modern representation of the classic Renaissance style portraits. The subjects were often holding an object which symbolised their social status or event. My image shows a modern version of this combined with traditional 16th century fashion neckline with the dark casting light across the model's face, a-like the portraits which defined the art movement. My image represents the change to modern life and the contrast between the materialistic items we value today.
Public Vote Winner 2020
'Nothing Has Changed' by Shannon Gregory, Westlands Secondary School
My entry is about the LACK of change in schools throughout the years, and how the grade system seems to control and determine our abilities. The reason I wanted to do this is to do something that I think no one else would do. I wanted to include something I'm passionate about. I think that schools should have had a change by now with how fast things are developing. But I mostly was inspired by Prince Ea's speech video about the school system in America. From there I created my entry using my old test papers and revision sheets for the background... Nothing Has Changed.
2020 Competition - Showreel of all entries
Thank you to everyone who applied to last year's competition - we loved seeing how you interpreted the theme of 'Change'!
We received over 120 submissions from over 46 schools and colleges, including:
Schools: Aylesford School, Beechwood Sacred Heart School, Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School, Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, Claremont Senior School, Cornwallis Academy, Dane Court Grammar School, Dover Grammar School for Girls, Folkestone Academy, Folkestone School for Girls, Fulston Manor, Herne Bay High, Highworth Grammar School For Girls, Hillview School for Girls, Holcombe Grammar School, Homewood School and Sixth Form college, Hugh Christie School, Invicta Grammar School, John Wallis Academy, Leigh Academy, Maplesden Noakes Sixth Form, Mayfield Grammar School for Girls, Northfleet School for Girls, Oasis Isle of Sheppey Academy, Rainham Mark Grammar School, Royal Harbour Academy, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, The Abbey School, The Archbishop's School, The Canterbury Academy, The Charles Dickens School, The Homesdale School, The Howard School, The Marsh Academy, The Rochester Grammar School, Valley Park School, Victory Academy, Weald of Kent Grammar School, Westlands Secondary School and Wilmington Academy.
Colleges: East Kent College, MidKent College, North Kent College, North West Kent College, Sittingbourne Community College and Ursuline College.
Below is a special video showreel of all of last year's competition entries.
What's it like to win the competition?
Wondering what it's like to enter a creative competition?
Hear from 2018's YouCreate:Selfie Competition Winner, David Rabin, as he talks about what it's like to enter the competition and the creative experiences and successes he has had since in the video below.
Other Opportunities
If you want to find out more about UCA's free creative opportunities, please visit our Get Creative webpage for more information on activities and resources available to young people aged 13-18.
This competition is provided as part of the UCA KaMCOP project, an outreach project to help promote create careers, pathways and education in Kent and Medway. You can find out more about KaMCOP here.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about KaMCOP at UCA, please contact us: