Inspired Art Competition for the young people of Renfrewshire returns to The Art Department

Inspired Art Competition for the young people of Renfrewshire returns to The Art Department. Winners announced at a special ceremony to open the exhibition. 

The Inspired Art Competition, an exhibition showcasing the artistic talents of young people in Renfrewshire and beyond, is back at The Art Department from Wednesday 2^nd October – 16^th November 2024. This year’s winners were announced at the opening event attended by over 75 pupils and teachers from the schools who submitted work.

This year’s prize winners:

This year’s commended:

Lois was commended for her image which was used as this year’s exhibition poster.*

A joint project of OneRen and The Art Department, Inspired has been running for 10 years and encourages young people in schools and educational settings across Renfrewshire to submit their artwork across a wide range of ages, stages and abilities, with 300 artworks chosen for the show. This year’s themes are inspired by the collections of Paisley Museum, including the work of celebrated local artist, John Byrne, Wildlife, Play, Portraits, Paisley, Climate Change, Open and Drawing.

This year’s judges are Councillor Lisa Marie Hughes, Chair of OneRen; Celie Byrne, a local artist, who is the daughter of John Byrne; and social historian and local artist, Lil Brookes.  

Commenting on this year’s Inspired, Councillor Lisa Marie Hughes, Chair of OneRen, said: “I am delighted that we are celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the Inspired Art exhibition, which OneRen has been supporting since 2014. The successful collaboration with Outspoken Arts has resulted in a huge number of submissions and it is wonderful to see the creative talents of pupils of all ages and abilities across Renfrewshire.”

Steven Thomson, Creative Director, The Art Department, said: “The Art Department, Paisley is delighted to see such a massive influx of art from all over Renfrewshire and beyond – nearly 1000 entries this year – showing not only a high level of skill and aptitude, but the passion for art and the vital need for cultural activity and freedom of expression.”

The Inspired Art Exhibition is supported by Future Paisley, Renfrewshire Council’s cultural regeneration investment programme, which uses the power of arts, heritage and culture to impact social and economic change. The exhibition is delivered in partnership with OneRen.

Exhibition Venue: The Art Department (ground floor) 2-10 Causeyside Street, Paisley PA1 1U.  The show runs 10am-4pm Tuesday – Saturday, until 16^th November 2024.  Entry is free.

For press information please contact Lisa Watt, The Art Department, Paisley on 07903 206615 or email: lisawatt@outspokenarts.org