It’s time for the kids to get creative as entries are open for the Wild HeART Student Art Prize.
Wild HeART Student Art Prize is an initiative of the Sunshine Coast Council, aimed at encouraging school-aged students in Queensland to showcase their artistic talents by submitting a realistic artwork depicting native Australian flora, fungi or fauna.
The Working Group, comprising of the Friends of the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden, Qld Wildlife Artists Society Inc., Friends of Mary Cairncross Association, and Sunshine Coast Council, has generously contributed a prize pool worth $3000. All submissions will be reviewed, and forty finalists across all age groups and subjects will be selected and displayed professionally at the Arts & Ecology Centre located in the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden, Tanawha (near Buderim).
The Wild HeART Working Group aims to inspire children to unleash their creativity and showcase their artistic skills by choosing an Australian species to illustrate. They encourage the children to explore and discover a species that may be unknown to them, either in their local backyard or a favourite spot. The group suggests selecting a species that the children have limited knowledge about and learn something fascinating and new about it.
There are twelve Wild HeART Student Art Prize awards collectively totalling a value of $3000 – all given as gift vouchers for art materials.
Eli with his winning painting of a numbat. Credit: Greg Miller
Key dates for Wild HeART Student Art Prize
Entries open: Friday 31 March 2023
Entries close: Sunday, 16 July 2023, 11:45 pm
Finalists announced: Monday, 7 August 2023
Finalists’ artwork delivery days: Friday 8 – Monday 11 September 2023
Winners announced: Saturday 16 September 2023
Exhibition dates: Saturday 16 September – Sunday 1 October 2023
Return of finalists’ artworks: Monday, 2 October 2023 (Public Holiday)
