Release Date: 2008-06-17
Original Link: http://presszoom.com/story_145207.html
Ekow Eshun, Chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group and Bob and Roberta Smith, one of the six shortlisted artists for the next Fourth Plinth commission presented the Fourth Plinth School Awards to talented young London schoolchildren at a ceremony at City Hall today (Friday 13 June).
(PressZoom.com) - Ekow Eshun, Chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group and Bob and Roberta Smith, one of the six shortlisted artists for the next Fourth Plinth commission presented the Fourth Plinth School Awards to talented young London schoolchildren at a ceremony at City Hall today (Friday 13 June).
School children aged from 7 to 14 from across London were asked to design a sculpture for a public space, inspired by the Fourth Plinth using their preferred choice of art form, from drawing, painting and sculpture, to collage and digital designs.
Schools that attended the awards ceremony included: Firs Farm Primary, Enfield; Monkfrith Primary, Barnet; Gainsborough Community Primary, Hackney; Furzedown Primary, Wandsworth; Monkfrith Primary, Barnet; Fortismere Secondary, Haringey; Bishops Ramsey C of E Primary, Hillingdon; Claremont High, Brent.
The Fourth Plinth School Awards are backed by the Mayor of London and supported by Arts Council England. They form part of an educational programme to encourage people to think about art in public spaces and raise awareness of the Fourth Plinth project, a contemporary art commissioning programme that sees new artwork selected for the vacant plinth on Trafalgar Square every few years.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson says:
‘I would like to congratulate all of the winners of this year’s Fourth Plinth Schools Awards for creating some fantastic artworks.
‘The young Londoners who participated were obviously truly inspired by the Fourth Plinth project and have reflected on their local surroundings and Trafalgar Square.’
Winners came from primary and secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bromley, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth.
A selection of the award winning entries is on display on the ramp at City Hall until 26th June. For more information about the awards and to see more exhibition entries please see www.fourthplinth.co.uk/schoolsaward.
Information about the next sculpture to be erected on the Fourth Plinth will be announced soon.
AWARD WINNERS
Primary Years 3 and 4
First Prize
Trees Can Cry by Ese Ayhan, year 4, Firs Farm Primary, Enfield.
Second Prize
Inner and Outer by Deen Peerthy, year 3, Monkfrith Primary, Barnet.
Third Prize
Anti- Bullying by Sao, year 4, Gainsborough Community Primary, Hackney.
Primary Years 5 and 6
First Prize
The Urban Thinker by Jovan Gonzales-Edwards, year 6, Furzedown Primary, Wandsworth.
Second Prize
Life Goes On by Deborah, year 5, Gainsborough Community Primary, Hackney.
Third Prize
The Leaf, Salamone, year 5/6, All Saints’ Primary, Barnet.
Secondary Years 7 to 9
First Prize
Urban Rats with a Message for Londoners, All of year 9, Fortismere Secondary, Haringey.
Second Prize
Globe Ice Cream! by Lauren Dowsett, year 8, Bishop Ramsey, Hillingdon.
Third Prize
Free at Last by Dhruv Shah, year 9, Claremont High, Brent.
Notes to Editors
The Fourth Plinth project is led by the Cultural Strategy Department at the Mayor’s Office, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group (FPCG). The FPCG heads up the commissioning process and recommends contemporary works for the Fourth Plinth. More information is available at the website: www.fourthplinth.co.uk.
The Fourth Plinth is an ongoing contemporary art commissioning programme that sees new artwork being selected for the vacant plinth every few years. The first new commission for the plinth - Marc Quinn's sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, - was unveiled in a public ceremony in September 2005. Thomas Schütte's Model for a Hotel 2007 is currently on display on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.