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Wildly Artistic Imaginings
Hundreds of pupils from schools within the UK recently harnessed
their imaginations and their artistic talent to create stunning
paintings, drawings, sculptures and collages for entry into the
nationwide schools’ art competition being run by the David Shepherd
Wildlife Foundation. (DSWF).
Outstanding entries were also received by pupils at schools in DSWF-supported
projects in India, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The enthusiasm of these
children compensated for the limited materials available in many
places. Some children in Zimbabwe even utilised the wire used by
poachers to illegally snare wildlife, which has been retrieved from
the bush by DSWF-supported anti-poaching patrols!
DSWF have supported Munda Wanga for the past three years, ever since
baby
Phoenix
arrived as a two week old orphan, her mother having been shot by
poachers for her ivory. As a result of this unique and special
partnership, Munda Wanga was asked to host the first round of the
competition, for Zambian entrees. The competition was held at Munda
Wanga earlier in the year, with the top twenty entries being chosen
by DSWF representatives and artists from the Arts Council,
Zambia.
Amidst very stiff competition, the selected entries were entered
into the final exhibition in the
UK,
at a prestigious ceremony at the Spencer Gallery of the Natural
History Museum on 15 June.
 UK
pupils were invited to
London
for an action-packed day. They had the opportunity to see their
work on display, to listen to a fascinating talk on conservation and
wildlife filming by BBC’s television wildlife presenter, Saba
Douglas-Hamilton who had flown over from Kenya especially to attend
the event, and to explore the Natural History Museum itself. In the
afternoon, the young people met internationally acclaimed wildlife
artist and conservationist, David Shepherd, who spoke to them about
their work and the important role of young people in ensuring the
future for many critically endangered species.
In front of a packed audience, David and Saba then presented the
fabulous prizes, which included a weekend break at Center Parcs, a
family ticket to Longleat Safari Park and a backstage tour of London
zoo, superb artistic materials from Daler Rowney, whilst the winners
of each age category were invited to spend an afternoon painting
with David Shepherd in his studio at home. Although, none of the
Zambian entries won the overall competition, David did acknowledge
the very high standards set by our very own artists and decided on
the following entries to receive prizes for the international
category.
Lucas Holzhoener
Yi Lin Pei
Keerti Nair
Unfortunately, for financial reasons, it was not possible to fly the
three winners to the
UK to pick up their awards. Instead, prizes will arrive later this
year and will be presented at an official ceremony by the DSWF
Trustee Chairman.
Saba Douglas-Hamilton said that the fabulous works of art had given
her great hope for the future of animal conservation because “it
would be impossible to produce works of such beauty and skill
without really loving the subject”. She expressed the hope that
all the young people there would get the opportunity one day to
visit
Africa and see the wildlife for themselves, “in the wild, where
it belongs”.
Speaking of the important role that young people will play in the
future health of our planet, David Shepherd said “I firmly
believe that young people are the finest of any generation. Young
people all over the world care and show more concern now for the
environment, the world we live in, than many heads of government or
heads of large industries. It is one of the most important roles of
my Foundation to encourage and inspire this concern”.
Due to the success of the art competition in Zambia and then London,
DSWF and Munda Wanga have agreed to hold another competition later
this year, encouraging more schools to enter the contest. The
competition is likely to be held at the end of this year, with
Zambian finalists being entered into next year’s finals. Details of
2004/5 competition will follow later in the year.
Munda Wanga would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone
who entered in this year’s successful art competition and hopes that
even more children will enter into next year’s. |
August 2004