A popular venue in the centre of York has launched an art competition tasking participants with imagining how the city will look in 100 years.
Creative social hub SPARK:York CIC, in Piccadilly, has launched its first ever art competition and has extended an invitation to all the local community to join in.
The competition is themed around the future of York and it encourages participants to envision summer in the city in 100 years.
In doing so, the brief asks participants to consider the visible impacts of climate change and possible urban developments.
The competition is open to York residents of all ages, with two age categories available: under 15 and 15 and over.
It is also open to all levels of experience.
There is no entry fee and all visual 2D art mediums are welcome.
Entrants are required to submit up to three images of their work from different angles and distances, accompanied by a short description of themselves and their artwork.
The submissions will be judged by the resident artists of Spark Studios MAKE Space: Dominic Brooks, Leon François Dumont, Jake Moore, Lucy Topham and Kai West.
The prizes include a £100 gift voucher sponsored by the York BID, York Passes sponsored by Visit York and sets of top quality handmade brushes produced and sponsored by local independent manufacturer, Rosemary and Co.
10 shortlisted artists will also be offered a place on an art masterclass given by Spark's resident makers.
In addition, 20 finalists will be selected, and their artworks will feature in an exhibition held in Spark's SHOW space at the beginning of September.
The finalists will be notified by August 14 and the winners will be announced by August 31.
The submission deadline is July 31.
Paulina Lewicka, Spark’s marketing and communications coordinator, said she hopes to involve the whole local community in the project and begin discussions around York’s future.
Read next:
- Nearly twice as many York people relying on Universal Credit than pre-Covid
- Art and science go hand in hand for map to reveal York’s air pollution
- York MP presents Bill to ‘break the cycle of bullying at work’
“With this art competition, we would love to get the local community involved in a conversation about the future of our beautiful city,” she said.
“Here at Spark, we believe that big change starts small, and we hope the submitted artworks will inspire us all to reflect on our lifestyles and the simple eco-friendly choices we can make that can have a significant impact on our environment in a few years.''
The competition comes after Spark celebrated its fifth year in the city in May.
The food, drink and retail space, housed in shipping containers in Piccadilly, first opened in May 2018.
It celebrated the anniversary over the May Bank Holiday weekend by welcoming back previous traders.
For more information and to enter the art competition visit Spark’s website: https://www.sparkyork.org/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here