Winners of Derbyshire Young Artist of the Year competition 2021 competition announced

The winners of the annual Chesterfield College competition were announced following a virtual exhibition and online vote in which hundreds of people logged online to see the stunning collection of work.

Now in its fifth year the competition, which is designed to showcase the creative talent of young people aged between eight and 18, saw a very high standard and number of entries.

This year artists were invited to enter paintings, collages, illustrations, photography or sculpture on the theme of ‘The power of creativity’.

Emily Machin, 15, who was a joint winner of the 15-18 photography category, said: “I really like the technique of light-writing in photography, using long exposure. I tried out a few shots of cars but wanted to do something different so in the end I focused on buses and trains.

"Being creative, for me, is important as it means being able to create and do anything you want, it's a way of expressing yourself.”

Eight-year-old Rory Deakin, winner of the age 8-11 photography category, entered a photograph of his mum, which really impressed the voters.

He said: “I really enjoyed this photography project. My mum often takes me out for photography shoots and I've learned a lot from her. I've learned that light is really important and I had lots of fun trying out different ways of lighting my mum for my photo entry, in the end we used net curtain!”

Julie Richards, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at Chesterfield College, congratulated all the winners.

She said: “We continue to be impressed by the standard of work produced every year. To all of those who entered but didn't win on this occasion we really hope to see your entries next year.

"It is wonderful to see your work. Derbyshire truly is a spectacularly creative county and we are so proud to give you this opportunity to showcase your talents.”

You can still see all of the entries in the virtual Young Artist of the Year exhibition via www.chesterfield.ac.uk/yaoty.

Winners of each category are:

· Amy Richards, 17 – Age 15-18 Visual Arts

· Emily Machin, 15 and Yasmin Clark, 16 – joint winners of Age 15 -18 Photography

· Grace Kershaw, 13 – Age 12-14 Visual Arts

· Yasmin Dyer, 14 – Age 12-14 Photography

· Isabelle Sanderson, 11 – Age 8-11 Visual Arts

· Rory Deakin, 8 – Age 8-11 Photography

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