Bedales Prep shortlisted in international art competition
Pupils at Bedales Prep, Dunhurst are celebrating after their artistic efforts earned the school a place in the final of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) Global Canvas Competition 2023.
Tasked with producing an imaginative and creative entry that represented this year’s theme – ‘Biodiversity: the complex web of life’ – a group of pupils in Group 3 (Year 6) worked together to create an installation of a section of British woodland in recycled cardboard and paper, which was shortlisted from hundreds of entries across 54 countries.
The group chose to focus on British forests due to the vital role they play in combatting climate change. Trees are essential for life – they emit oxygen; act as a filter by absorbing pollutants from the air; absorb carbon dioxide, helping to slow the rate of global warming; and shelter, nurture and nourish a myriad of animals, plants and organisms.
Inspired by the work of French contemporary artist Eva Jospin, pupils chose to use cardboard – which is, of course, made from trees – to build the trees in their installation, cutting, tearing and sticking the cardboard to create textured surfaces of bark, layering the trunks and branches to create a dense woodland feel.
They considered the many species of animal, insect and plant that inhabit British forests and, inspired by acclaimed British designer Es Devlin’s ‘Come Home Again’ installation, used maps of the local area to create silhouettes of endangered British species, including red squirrels, hedgehogs, natterjack toads and Bechstein’s bats.
Dunhurst is no stranger to success in the DSWF Global Canvas Competition, reaching the final for three consecutive years from 2017-2019 and finishing in third place in 2018 with a striking Great Barrier Reef installation.
Dunhurst’s Head of Art and Design Susan McFarlane said: “We are delighted that Dunhurst has been selected as a finalist in Global Canvas Competition once again. In making our forest inspired piece, we thought deeply through creative and practical processes about ecological issues affecting our planet, and it made us conscious and grateful for what we have. I am so proud of the pupils and thrilled that their hard work has been recognised by the DSWF.”
Established in 2004 by DSWF founder David Shepherd, the Global Canvas Competition is an annual international art contest run by the DSWF with the aim of encouraging creativity from young people whilst displaying concern for the planet’s environment and the wildlife that inhabit it.