The prizegiving ceremony at Christchurch’s Tūranga (Central Library) on Saturday 4 November was the culmination of several months of hard work, and built on what was learned from the first competition last year. This involved distributing competition information to all schools in the South Island, and then collecting and judging all the entries; not an easy task, as the standard was high.
Over 240 entries were received, from Nelson to Invercargill. Once received, it was a matter of sorting them into three age groupings. This was done at the office of Mark Wang, of Harcourts Gold Spitfire, who has generously sponsored these awards in 2022 and 2023.
As the art works were being sorted into their different groups, the first thing that struck everyone present was the amazing standard of the entries. Some of them in fact were outstanding. Once sorted, our three judges got on to the very challenging process of deciding the winners in each category.
The prizegiving ceremony on Saturday 4 November was well attended by 100 – 150 people; a mixture of excited children, proud parents and grandparents, branch members, members of the public etc. Committee member Laura Carter once again did a very good job as MC for the event.
Following a welcome from branch president Chris Goodwin, brief speeches were given by Madam He Ying, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, competition sponsor Mark Wang of Harcourts Gold Spitfire, as well as a judge’s overview from Lieve Bierque HOD Art, Christchurch Girls’ High School, artist and Honorary Consul of Belgium.
This was followed by the prizegiving ceremony, with the prizes being awarded by Cr Tyla Harrison-Hunt, Branch President Chris Goodwin, NZCFS National Patron Sir David Carter and Madam He Ying. The ceremony was interspersed with a number of cultural performances. It was delightful to watch the young artists coming forward to receive their prizes, which were vouchers for Westfield Mall; Third Prize $100, Second Prize $200 and First Prize $300 and those who received a Highly Commended were given small gifts by the Chinese Consulate.
Committee members took the opportunity of talking to several of the parents and visitors and received a lot of positive feedback; we feel we’ve made some useful contacts.
The process, from distributing information to schools right through to the ceremony, was a huge success.
A special vote of thanks must go to the three judges, Gray Leonard, Li’Ying Cai and Lieve Bierque, for their expertise and enthusiasm to be involved; it was very much appreciated.
The great news is that Harcourts Gold Spitfire has agreed to sponsor this exciting competition again in 2024!
The branch committee would like to acknowledge the generosity of Mark Wang and Harcourts Gold Spitfire and AJ Motors for the very generous sponsorship of this exciting and rewarding annual event.
