Drawn From Youth 6: Three national winners! (2016)

We held our  sixth Drawn From Youth exhibition in March 2016. The exhibition is an extension of a UK-wide national art competition, organised by NADFAS, working in conjunction with the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA). Each year, 20 places are offered to A-level students at the Annual RBA Exhibition held at the Mall Galleries in London. Fylde DFAS enters works from local students each year and has won six of these coveted places so far. This year the Society was delighted to learn that our local students  won three of the 20 places. The winners were Jessica Kirkpatrick and Gabriella Morris from AKS, and Jen Francis from Blackpool Sixth Form College. As well as having their works displayed at the Mall Galleries, the artworks were also on display at the Rising Stars Exhibition at the Lloyd’s Register Gallery in the City of London.

As in other years, we held our exhibition at the Fylde Gallery in Lytham. In all, seven schools and two Sixth Form Colleges participated Sixty-four students exhibited 96 items of artwork, including drawings, sketches and paintings using a variety of media, ceramics in varied form, sculpture, textiles, jewellery and photography – a wonderful example of high quality artwork by A-level students across the Fylde.

The exhibition opened with a Preview Event to which students, and their parents and teachers were invited, together with mayoral parties from Fylde, and Wyre. The Guest Speaker was June Robinson, Chair of NADFAS (National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies), who presented three Fylde DFAS prizes for artwork of outstanding merit. The winners were: Rachel Wallace (Cardinal Newman College), Emily Cobbs (Rossall School) and Alisha Johnson (Blackpool Sixth Form College). Other highly commended and commended prizes meant that all seven schools received at least one award. June warmly congratulated the participating students on their impressive exhibition, remarking on the very high standard and range of artwork. She spoke of the importance given to ‘Young Arts’ by NADFAS and of their continued support, encouraging students who seek to further their education in the world of art.

This year, Fylde DFAS welcomed back Katie Hampson on our Panel of Judges. Now with a 1st class Honours Degree in Fine Arts and a successful, practicing artist, Katie expressed her gratitude to NADFAS, saying how much she valued the experience of exhibiting her artwork at the Mall Galleries and the incentive it had given her to continue her ambition of becoming a professional artist.

The Society is very grateful for the help and support provided by the staff from our local schools and colleges, the students, and their families and friends. We look forward to organising our seventh Drawn From Youth event in the coming months.

Schools involved:

• AKS, Lytham St Annes
• Baines School, Poulton
• Blackpool Sixth Form College
• Cardinal Newman College, Preston
• Carr Hill School & Sixth Form Centre, Kirkham
• Lytham St Annes Technology & performing Arts College
• Rossall School, Fleetwood

Caption (above) Ram’s Head by Gabriella Morris, AKS