Adelaide Festival seeks junior artists creative on climate change

Calling all young Aussie artists – the Adelaide Festival wants to see your artistic take on climate change.

Create4Adelaide, a project of the Adelaide Festival based in South Australia, is seeking entries from young people across the country that offer a creative response to three climate change priorities recently voted on by 2000 young people as part of the project.

The priorities are: the extinction of plants and animals, extreme weather events (such as bushfires, droughts and floods) and pollution of our air and waterways.

All art forms will be accepted, including visual arts, poetry and video, as long as they can be submitted digitally. The submitted artworks will be displayed on the Create4Adelaide website and voted on by young people across South Australia.

The top voted works will form an exhibition in the 2024 Adelaide Festival.

Adelaide Festival artistic director Ruth Mackenzie says the project is giving young people a platform from which to be heard, which is a “vital component* in our fight against climate change.”

“We’ve already gathered a strong collection of artworks through our Create4Adelaide workshops and we’re excited to see what else young people come up with now that submissions have opened,” she says. “Climate change activism* needs new voices to lead the way. I invite every young person who hears this message to get creative and get involved.”

Arts Minister Arts Andrea Michaels MP says it is “wonderful” to see the creativity and passion of young people come together to fight “such an important cause.”

“Create4Adelaide is playing a pivotal* role in empowering young people by providing them with a platform to address the most pressing issues of our era*,” she says.

Create4Adelaide is also offering workshops with groups of young people in schools, libraries and other community centres on request in order to provide a space where young people can reflect on the present state of the planet while having access to art-making tools.

Online learning packs and educational resources around the three climate priorities are also available to students and teachers.

WINNERS OF ART PRIZE ANNOUNCED

It follows the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize in Sydney.

Now in its third year, winners across nine categories were chosen out of 600 entries from across the country and will share in a prize pool of $42,000.

Also based on the challenge of climate change, the non-acquisitive* prize gives young artists and designers the chance to engage in a conversation around the environmental challenges of the 21st century. It also involves themes of innovation*, environmental regeneration* and the circular economy*.

THIS YEAR’S WINNERS:

Ceramics and Small Sculpture: Shani Nottingham, Cowra, NSW

Film: Perdita Phillips, Fremantle, WA

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation, Bulli, NSW

Painting and Mixed Media: Grace Kemarre Robinya, Alice Springs, NT

Works on Paper and Photography: Belinda Yee, Balmain, NSW

Wearable Design: Adelash Parsons, Surry Hills, NSW

Functional Design: Jack Stannard, Balgowlah, NSW

Young Artists and Designers (7-12 years): Joint Winners

Charles Whitehead – North Curl Curl, NSW

Isabella Niu – Roseville, NSW

Imogen Maddison – Chatswood, NSW

Rafferty Stanley – Fairlight, NSW

Young Artists and Designers (13-18 years): Joint Winners

Charlotte Yan – North Narrabeen, NSW

Jasper Hartmann – Coogee NSW

Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins says the prize shows the artistic talent of young Australians fighting climate change for a better future.

“Artists and designers are agents of change; often taking the lead in responding to environmental or societal challenges,” she says. “The Environmental Art & Design Prize has brought together a dynamic community of artists, designers and audiences who care deeply about our future.”

Artist Caroline Rothwell and Australian industrial designer Adam Goodrum judged the competition.

Finalist works can be seen from Friday 4-27 August (Tues-Sun, 10am-5pm) at Manly Art Gallery and Museum (MAG&M), Curl Curl Creative Space and Mona Vale Creative Space Gallery.

A People’s Choice Award will be announced on Friday 25 August at 7pm at MAG&M.

Entry to the exhibition is free.

Young people can submit artwork to Create4Adelaide by sharing on social media using #C4A or via the Create4Adelaide website at create4adelaide.au.

Submissions close September 30.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• component: a part of something
• activism: fighting for change in the way things are done
• pivotal: important and leading to change
• empowering: giving someone the tools they need to make themselves heard
• pressing: needing to be addressed as soon as possible
• era: an age or time frame in history
• non-acquisitive: the artist gets their artwork back at the end of the contest
• innovation: the introduction of something new
• regeneration: to create again
• circular economy: a system where materials can never become waste because they are always being reused and regenerated
• societal challenges: challenges that our society is facing

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What are the three climate change priorities featured in the Create4Adelaide project?
2. What types of artworks are accepted in the Create4Adelaide project?
3. Which two artists judged the Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize?
4. How many people entered artworks in the Sydney-based competition this year?
5. What themes were highlighted in this year’s prize?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Climate change poem
The Create4Adelaide promotion wants young people to enter their competition by submitting creative entries to do with climate change.

One of the options is a poem. Work on a poem to do with one of the three climate change priorities.

The extinction of plants and animals

Extreme weather events (such as bushfires, droughts and floods)

Pollution of our air and waterways.

Write a poem on one of the above topics that you feel the most passionate about.

It might be a piece of work you continue to work on, edit and possibly publish and enter into the competition using the details from the Kids News article.

Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
This competition is a chance for young people to have a say and respond to climate change in an artistic way, which can be a powerful medium.

What other artwork might you like to create to enter into the competition? It can be any art form, as long as it can be uploaded digitally.

Brainstorm some other forms of art you’d like to possibly research and create to enter this competition.

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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Writing task: Express your ideas on climate change
Take a moment to read and understand the article about the Adelaide Festival’s project, Create4Adelaide, which encourages young artists to respond creatively to climate change priorities. Think about climate change.

Discuss the following questions with a partner: What do you understand about climate change from the article? Why is it important? How can art help raise awareness about climate change?

Respond to the article by writing a short paragraph expressing your thoughts about climate change and how young artists can contribute to raising awareness, using information from the article.

Organise your thoughts: Before you start writing, jot down your ideas. What do you think about young artists creating art related to climate change? How can their work make a difference?

Consider your V.C.O.P. Skills: Remember to use your V.C.O.P. skills to enhance your writing:

– Vocabulary: Use descriptive words to express your thoughts clearly.

– Connectives: Use words like “because,” “and,” “so,” and “if” to connect your ideas.

– Openers: Start your sentences in different ways, like using opinion “I believe,” “In my opinion,” “One thing I know is,” etc.

– Punctuation: Use full stops, capital letters, and commas correctly.

Write a paragraph expressing your thoughts about climate change and how young artists can contribute to raising awareness. Use the information from the article to support your ideas.

Begin your paragraph by introducing the topic of climate change and the Create4Adelaide project.

In the main body of your paragraph, explain why you think it’s important for young artists to create art about climate change. How can their art help people understand the issues better?

Use an example from the article, like the Create4Adelaide project, to support your thoughts.

Sum up your ideas and reiterate why you believe young artists can play a significant role in spreading awareness about climate change through their art.

Edit and uplevel: After writing, read through your paragraph to make sure your ideas are clear, there are no omissions, and the writing makes sense. Next you can check for any spelling or grammar mistakes that you can fix.

Remember, you’re sharing your thoughts about climate change and how young artists can make a difference. Express yourself clearly and enjoy exploring the idea of art for a good cause!