Supporting young Londoners to use art to express their response to climate change
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Boodle Hatfield is delighted to be sponsoring the Young London Print Prize, a competition run by Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair to inspire and showcase the work of young artists.
The prize was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic to support young talent to express their response to the climate crisis. It seeks to bridge the gap between compulsory education and the contemporary art world by directly involving young printmakers. The third Young London Print Prize launches today (Thursday 23 June) and will see over 3,000 young Londoners, between the ages of 9 and 11 from neighbourhoods across the capital, use art to express their personal response to climate change.
The work showcased by the Young London Print Prize will be created, judged and curated by young people themselves. The competition is driven by the idea that all young people can be artists in their own right and aims to write a new future for contemporary art in the capital that reflects the real diversity of young Londoners. This year’s entries and winners will be displayed at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair from 3-7 November, alongside some of the world’s finest printmakers.
Over 25 schools will take part, with free teacher training sessions and more than 40 workshops delivered across the capital from Plumstead and Walthamstow to the Isle of Dogs, where pupils are taught how to make art using a technique known as relief printing and prepare their submission to the prize. The winners of this year’s print prize will be announced on November 3 and showcased on the Piccadilly Lights, three days before the start of the COP27 conference.
Matt Bell, Co-Founder of Young London Print Prize, said:
“Climate change isn’t just a science problem – it’s about our culture and behaviours. It’s a product of what we value. Art shapes our world view and helps us to see things differently, as well as being a critical form of protest. That’s why this prize is so important. Each year we have seen young people express their creative response to the climate crisis and take ownership of an issue that will dramatically affect their future lives.”
Simon Fitzpatrick, Head of Art Law & More at Boodle Hatfield, commented:
“Art is a critical form of expression and climate change one of the most important topics of our time, not just for our generation but for generations to come. It is great that we can build on our long-term relationship with the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and support the Young London Print Prize. Being involved in providing children with a new opportunity at school and driving the climate change discussion through art is fantastic.”
Boodle Hatfield has been supporting Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair for a number of years and in 2019 launched the Boodle Hatfield Printmaking Prize.
The Young London Print Prize is run by Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, with support from Peabody, Anthesis, LandSec, Boodle Hatfield and the Foundation for Future London. For more information, please visit Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair.
