Young artists show their skills

Three TT students, Ayari Welcome, El'Anaya Destiny Henry and Luke Fridie topped their categories in the Children’s Art Competition hosted by CIBC FirstCaribbean bank.

Welcome won the 15-18 year category for secondary school, while in the primary school category El'Anaya Destiny Henry took the 8-11 year category and Luke Fridie topped the 4-7 year grouping.

Close to 30 school-aged artists from nine territories showed off their abilities with paintbrush, pencil and mixed media in the competition which ran from December 15, 2020 to January 15 this year.

Students were able to use traditional watercolours or mixed media to render their interpretation of selected topics –Save Your Money and Why Do We Need to Save, for primary school students and The Bank of the Future, for secondary school students.

In congratulating the winners and participants, chief executive officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean Colette Delaney said, “We were bowled over by the sheer talent and creativity of our young people from all across the region. The entries were all of a very high standard which speaks volumes about the quality of art education and appreciation in the region.

“Living and learning over the past year has been particularly challenging for many of our region’s youth as they too have been forced to adapt as a consequence of the covid19 pandemic. We were very pleased that so many took the time to enter our competition cognisant of the immense therapeutic value in engaging in art and artistic expression.”

The competition was open to primary and secondary school students resident in 16 territories where the bank operates.

The primary school entrants were divided into two categories – 4-7 years and 8-11 years, while those from the secondary schools were divided into 11-14 and 15-18 categories. Primary school students used watercolour, crayon or paint for their entries while secondary had a choice of digital, mixed media, paint – water colour or acrylic.

The winners by country in their respective categories are: Bahamas: David Ramtulla (15-18); Barbados: Genesis Parris (11-14) and Nharad Banfield-Scott (8-11); Curacao: Immanuel Montoya Fullinck, (8-11), Marcello Montoya Fullinck, (4-7) and Mayah El Ayoubi (8-11); Dominica: Tana Valmond (15-18); Grenada: Mikaela Mc Kie (8-11); Jamaica: K'yana Edwards (15-18); St Lucia: Prashanti Pravin Rathod (11-14); Turks and Caicos Islands: Aaron Rodney (4-7), and Ahmara Rigby (8-11); TT: Ayari Welcome (15-18), El'Anaya Destiny Henry (8-11) and Luke Fridie (4-7).

The winners and runners up will receive Amazon Gift cards in varying amounts and art supplies.