Bhumija Parmi aged 16, pupil at the Webber Independent School wins Young Artist of the Year competition 2023
Students from schools in Milton Keynes submitted some 300 artworks in a bid to be crowned Westbury Young Artist of the Year in a competition run by Westbury Arts Centre held July 2023.
The annual event aims to inspire the creativity of young people in Milton Keynes who are given the opportunity to submit free of charge up to two artworks in any medium e.g. paint, textile, photography etc.
The young people’s framed artwork was professionally hung at Westbury and shown at an exclusive art event to which the public was invited. Around 190 members of the public came to the exhibition over the weekend of 15-16 July.
A judging panel of resident artists at Westbury reviewed the work. These were Robin Souter, who specialises in oil painting; Lindsay Neale Waring, wire sculptor; Jo Stone, fine artist; plus Mallory Henson a trustee at Westbury. Zoe Nolan, Milton Keynes City Council Cabinet member for Children & Families and Councillor for Loughton and Shenley, gave a short speech at the presentation.
This year’s overall winner was Bumijha Parmi, age 16, who studies at The Webber Independent School , for her imaginative and thought-provoking study.
Other prize winners were:
Sofia Stagg from the Webber Independent School who won first prize in the 15-18 age category.
Sara Shokar who won first prize in the age 10-14 age category.
Harshi Kumar, age 9 from Milton Keynes Preparatory School who won first prize in the 5-9 age category.
The prizes were presented by Mallory Henson, together with the resident artists who were on the judging panel.
The judges said: ‘We had great difficulty in selecting the winners in each of the three judging categories. The remarkably high standard of entries provided proof that art in our schools is still thriving, and Westbury is proud to help to contribute and develop contacts with our young local artists.’
The winners in each age group won an invitation to attend a one-to-one workshop class with a resident artist at Westbury. Frances Fox will tutor the 5-9 age group winner; Lindsay Neale Waring will tutor the 10-14 age group winner; Robin Souter, the 15-18 age group winner; and Joanna Stone to the overall winner.
Painting by Harshi Kumar who won the age 5-9 category.
The painting submitted by Young Artist of the Year Bumijha Parmi