Golden Jubilee Schools'
Poster Competition
To mark the 50th anniversary of its re-foundation, and to encourage interest in Richard amongst the younger age groups, the Richard III Society decided to offer prizes to young people - and to their schools - who have something to show us, or tell us, relating to Richard III. The Golden Jubilee Schools Competition was divided into two sections: a writing competition (the results for which will be announced shortly) and a poster competition. The poster competition was aimed at the lower secondary (and upper middle) school age range.
Between thirty and forty poster entries were received, from a wide geographical spread of schools in the England, Wales and Ireland. No entries were received from Scotland: a fact which possibly reflects its separate historical and cultural identity in the later middle ages. Entries were received from both boys and girls, and both sexes are represented among the winners.
Some of the posters were excellent, and judging them was not easy. Eventually four members of the Society (from different backgrounds, but all with an interest in the posters) agreed to be volunteered as judges, and although each judge marked the posters individually (applying an agreed mark scheme) there was a surprising degree of unanimity in their overall judgements. The top three prize winners were highly placed by all four judges, though there were individual differences in respect of the exact order in which they should stand. The final placements were arrived at by aggregating the judges' marks.
What were the judges looking for?
| · A good clear design, suited to a poster | |
| · Some knowledge of Richard, his time and / or the places connected with him | |
| · Evidence of originality and imagination | |
| · A good quality finished product (however this was achieved) |
The posters submitted comprised a range of techniques: drawing, painting, computer graphics and collage were all represented. They were also the product of a range of milieux. They came firstly from schools of different types (middle schools, secondary schools, state schools, independent schools). Secondly they represented different departments within schools. Many posters, of course, were submitted by art departments, but there were also entries from English and History departments.
All the posters submitted showed at least a basic understanding of Richard, his period and the main issues surrounding him. Many presented more that one possible point of view, represented variously by the use of different images of Richard (including the Shakespeare character, the Middleham statue and the Society of Antiquaries, Windsor and National Portrait Gallery paintings), by angel and devil tempter figures, by jigsaw-like designs, and by question marks. Some posters evidenced a sense of humour, with captions like:
I've got a hunch I'm going to be king.
The
three winning posters are very varied. There is a simple, but beautifully
executed and rather enigmatic drawing of Richard, with his name and nothing
else. This image leaves all the judgement to the spectator. There is a
fine poster which focuses on a real event of the jubilee year, and advertises
it clearly and with some skill. There is a beautifully executed advertisement
for the Bosworth Battlefield centre, with sensitive and accomplished drawing.
First
Prize
£100 to the
student together with one year's free membership of the Richard III Society,
and £100 to the school together with a copy of Jeremy Potter's Good King
Richard for the school library.
Second Prize
£60
to the student and £60 to the school.
Third Prize
£30
to the student and £30 to the school
The originals of all
the prize-winning, highly commended and commended posters will be on display
in London, at Staple Inn on 19 May, when HRH the duke of Gloucester will
formally congratulate the winners and present the prizes on behalf of
the Society.
If I have one reservation in respect of the poster competition, it would be regret that we were not completely swamped with entries. The poster competition was widely advertised, and it would have been wonderful if a really huge number of schools and individual students had taken part. The fact that we were not submerged beneath a mound of posters sadly reflects the rather limited place which Richard III and the later middle ages seem to enjoy in our educational priorities.
John Ashdown-Hill
1st prize winner
Artist:
Samara Sakayam
School: Linslade Middle School, Leighton Buzzard
2nd prize winner
Artist:
Ryan Byrne
School: Rathmore Grammar School, Belfast
3rd prize winner
Artist:
Francesca Onesti
School:
Wells Cathedral School, Wells
Highly
Commended:
Commended:
A selection of the other entries
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