Visual Arts Centre

Frequently Asked Questions: Art Competition – Courage, Hope and Love in the time of a pandemic

1) Who can participate in this competition?

Participants from the age of 7 to 18 can participate. They are to join the Children group (7-11 years old) or Youth group (12-18 years old) based on their age at the time of entry submission

There are no limitations to nationality. Participants may be holding Singapore citizenship, PR or student visa. However, they must be currently residing in Singapore. (Participants are required to provide a local contact number)

2) What are the judging criteria?The artwork will be judged based on three main considerations – relevance to the theme and creative use of ideas and concept (60%), artistic technique and quality (30%), and overall artistic presentation (10%). The artworks will be graded and ranked according to these three criteria.
3) What is the theme of the competition?

The theme of the competition is “Courage, Hope and Love in the time of a pandemic”. We would like to invite children and youths to reflect on the past year of the new normal and ask themselves if they have experienced any acts or moments of courage, hope and love in their daily lives. These could be personal encounters, lived experiences of closed family and friends, everyday observations, stories and moments.

Participants need to produce an original artwork on his/her own in accordance with the competition theme. Any plagiarism of existing artwork or direct rendering of photographs will not be permitted. 

4) When will registration begin and when will registration close?Registration is open from 15 April 2021, 12pm to 30 October 2021, 12pm. No registration will be accepted from 12:01pm 30 October 2021.
5) How do we register?

To register for this art competition, the participant is required to fill in their information and make payment online for the registration fee ($18). 

An email of confirmation will be sent to participants who have successfully registered within a week.

6) When will submission close?Participants’ artworks may be submitted from 12pm 30 August 2021 to 12pm 30 October 2021. No submissions will be accepted from 12:01pm 30 October 2021 onwards.
7) What is the submission process?

To submit the artwork entry for this art competition, the participant is required to fill in Artwork Submission Form online and upload one to two images of the artwork (the image file should be saved as Last Name, First Name, Middle Name (optional), Title of Artwork). For example, the artwork image should be saved as “Chen_Amanda_YingYing_United”.

Upon successful submission, participants will receive an email of confirmation.

8) Are there any requirements specific to the size of the artwork?Participants are to submit an original artwork of any size between 21cm height/length and not more than 60cm height/length. For example, the artwork may be 30cm (H) x 40cm (L).
9) Are there any restrictions on medium?Participants may use any art mediums – pencil, colour pencil, graphite, charcoal, pen, markers, acrylic paint, oil paint, watercolour paint, poster paint, Chinese ink etc. Participants may combine and use multiple mediums. The artwork should be created on a piece of paper/watercolour paper/rice paper/canvas.
10) What are the prizes for this competition?

The following awards will be given to each category (Group A – Children 7-11 Years  & Group B – Youth 12-18 Years):

1st Prize (1 recipient): $1,500 cash reward + $288 worth of gift voucher + $300 gift hamper

2nd Prize (1 recipient): $1,000 cash reward + $288 worth of gift voucher + $300 gift hamper

3rd Prize (1 recipient): $500 + $288 worth of gift voucher + $300 gift hamper

Artistic Excellence Award (30 recipients): $100 worth of gift vouchers and goodie bags

Important Terms and Conditions:

The artwork should be an original work produced solely by the participant for this art competition. The artwork should be produced from 30 April 2021 to 30 October 2021.

The participant may freely express their artistic creativity in response to the art competition. The created artwork should adhere to the theme of the art competition and submissions which are irrelevant to the theme may not be considered. The artwork should be an original work and not a copy from an existing photograph or artwork. Hence, a participant may be forfeited if the artwork is found to be a direct reproduction of an existing photograph or artwork.

Participants must ensure that their artwork is ready for presentation and exhibition as all thirty artistic excellence award winners and top three prize winners will be called to submit the artworks for the exhibition and prize award ceremony in Dec 2021. Participants who fail to submit their artworks will be forfeited.

Media / Public Relations Contact

Visual Arts Centre Address

Dhoby Ghaut Studio:    10 Penang Road 01-02, Dhoby Ghaut Green, Singapore 238469

MacPherson Studio:     140 Paya Lebar Road 03-04 AZ @ Paya Lebar, Singapore 409015

For the competition information page and for signing up for the competition, please click here

For enquiries, please contact [email protected]