Young Mullingar artist wins in ‘Draw Our Heroes’ competition
A young artist from Mullingar has won first prize in the ‘Draw Our Heroes’ art competition.
The competition, sponsored by Uniphar Group plc and Richard Mulcahy, have announced, and presented prizes to its winners, talented young artists from across the country.
First prize winners included:
• Preksha Utekar from County Westmeath, Age category 8 years or under
• Liadh Duane from County Galway, Age category 9-12 years
• Della Cowper-Gray from County Kildare, Age category 13-15 years
• Mary Bradfield from County Waterford, Age category 16-18 years.
Preksha, said: “My dad, Dr Tushar Utekar, is my hero because he has been working very hard during this Covid-19 Pandemic. He sometimes works continuously for days and nights to take care of patients in the hospital. He is very kind, calm and caring. I love him a lot.”
There were more than 1,600 entries for the competition.
Announced in April of last year, during the first lockdown, the innovative art competition centred on the theme ‘everyone is a hero in their own right’.
It asked budding artists from all around Ireland to immortalise the everyday heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic by submitting their original portraits.
Entries included portraits of parents and family members working in the front lines or from home to keep everyone safe, grandparents, politicians and other public servants, and other important community members such as medical, emergency and security personnel as well as retail and other essential service providers.
Overall, the competition aimed to recognise and celebrate the many different professions and people who work to get Ireland safely through the pandemic.
The contest was open to anyone up to the age of 18 years. Entries were also submitted with a written piece outlining why the artwork highlights this hero and what makes them so special.
Broadcaster Joe Duffy and ceramic artist Olga Fitzpatrick sat on the panel of judges and presented the awards to the winning entries. Artist Graham Knuttel also sat on the judging panel.
The winning entries are first be placed online for viewing, with a public exhibition planned later as a tribute to the heroic efforts of thousands of our citizens throughout the pandemic.
A prize pool of €2,500 has been awarded to the top three entries across four age categories and a further €2,500 which will be paid to the heroes nominated by the winning artists.
The competition has attracted much attention from some of the public figures depicted by the young people. For example, the director general of The World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was painted by the third prize winner in the 13-15 age category, Anna Louise Lumingkit, spoke with the young artist through Zoom at the presentation of prizes.
Competition originator Richard Mulcahy said: “At the onset of the first lockdown, it was clear to me that while the pandemic brought great sadness and fear, it also brought us closer together as nation.
“We could see how resilient and inventive we all can be during challenging times and the pandemic also brought into sharp relief the amazing work our ordinary healthcare and frontline workers do every day.
“I wanted to do something to help honour all these amazing people. I was so impressed by the creativity of our young entrants. This past year and a half has been so challenging for young people and it was wonderful to see them really use their artistic flair to connect with the message and bring it to life. Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who participated.”