Interest among children in the VMC Art Contest has increased over the years, leading to a 100 percent increase in entries since it was conceived several years ago.
Mate Espina, VMC’s consultant who is leading this event to unfold this Friday in Bacolod City, said this year’s contest will be participated in by 75 students out of 263 entries from Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
This annual island-wide children’s art contest, sponsored by the Victorias Milling Corp., is a venue for participants to express their love for art and appreciation for it, as well as for the preservation of culture.
The contestants — 50 from Negros Occidental and 24 from Negros Oriental — will be competing in three categories during the on-the-spot competition Friday evening at the Gallery Orange in Bacolod City.
There are three categories in the contest: Elementary (Grades 1 to 6); High School (Grades 7 to 12); and the Tertiary Category, Espina said.
The theme for this year’s VMC Art Contest is Victory, which “seeks to inculcate the value of perseverance and hard work that will propel the young to success and empower them to share their ideas through creativity and the arts”.
Elementary, High School and Tertiary champions will take home P20,000, P25,000 and P30,000 respectively.
Apart from cash prizes and computer packages for schools of winning artists, finalists in this competition will be given an opportunity to participate in a mentorship program through workshops with experts in the field of visual arts as well as have their careers launched through a company-sponsored exhibition for the tertiary level winners. (With reports from Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)