Art in Heaven 2013
The annual Art in Heaven competition has been run by NATRE since 2004. This year, well over 20,000 pupils took part and entered the competition, with entries coming from as far afield as Cyprus and Australia. After much deliberation we have awarded 30 prizes. There was nothing simple about the judging process, but the agreement in the end was complete. Judges included two artists whose work has appeared on the website and RE today / NATRE staff. The judges were very pleased and impressed with the quality of thinking about all five of the themes. The best examples were also beautifully crafted and often startling in their originality and imagination. We loved some of the more unusual entries, including a whole school entry where the village community created a series of stained glass windows. Good RE is creative, knowledgeable and thought provoking – the entries we saw this year are evidence of RE's strengths with pupils showing this through their art and excellent thoughtful descriptions of their work. From 5 year olds through to 14-19s, there were so many examples of excellence. Some of the best work was focused on concepts, scriptures or experiences in powerful ways. We would like it next year if there were more entries from SEN pupils, and more from the 5-7 and 14-19 age range. The competition offers much to these pupils and age groups, but they were under represented in the entries we received. We also like to receive video based entries: there were over thirty of these this year, all very interesting, with some particularly good musical entries. All the pupils whose work was submitted will receive a certificate of achievement.
View the 2013 'Art In Heaven' Gallery for winners and other commended entries.