Exciting, vibrant, diverse are words that are often used to describe the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival. These words can also be applied to the thousands of posters that are submitted as part of the festival’s annual Schools Poster Competition supported by Virgin Money.
Launching the 2013 Schools Poster Competition, Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said:
“For the last 32 years, the Fringe Society has invited schools across Scotland to submit posters encapsulating what the Fringe means to them. The response has been terrific and 2012 was no exception, with over 3,000 entries and the number of schools taking part almost doubling from 2011. The 2013 competition is now open, and we are hoping for a huge response from schools from every corner of Scotland.
“Each year, one talented young artist will see their design become the official poster for the Fringe, and there are prizes of up to £750 for the top three artists and their schools. Students are also in with the chance of seeing their posters appear in an exhibitionin Edinburgh throughout the summer.
“Not only is the Schools Poster Competition a chance to celebrate the talent and imagination of Scotland’s young artists, but is also an engaging educational project that can be adapted by teachers to suit their students. With this in mind, the Fringe Society has developed some learning resources to accompany the competition. These resources have been designed to complement the ethos of Scotland’s new Curriculum for Excellence.
“I also want to take this opportunity to thank the teachers and schools that play an active part in this competition each year as well as Virgin Money for their dedicated and ongoing support for the competition.”
Art teacher Fiona McWilliam, who worked with Fringe Society staff to create the learning resources, said:
“The Fringe Schools Poster Competition is a great opportunity for teachers to introduce their pupils to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, while completing a fun, creative and cross-curricular project with the possibility of having their students’ artwork professionally displayed in an exhibition.
“I hope that the learning resources we have developed alongside the competition will help teachers taking part to inspire their pupils to create some really imaginative poster designs. The resources include lesson plans, specially adapted for four different age groups, with lots of different activities linked to the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes, as well as Fringe photo and video galleries to help put the competition in context.”
Jennifer Hay, a teacher at Culloden Academy who took part in the 2012 competition, added:
“I really enjoy offering this competition to my pupils as it is a particularly ideal Curriculum for Excellence project covering all bases. The pupils love it - a real design brief, with excellent resources available and the incentive to win money. It is a project I look forward to working on each year and the pupils do too.”
Notes to editors
Entries for the Fringe Schools Poster Competition should be sent to: Schools Poster Competition, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, 180 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1QS no later than Friday 15 March.
The competition is open to all 5 to 16 year old pupils at schools in Scotland and the entry pack and learning resources can be downloaded at www.edfringe.com/poster. The cash prizes for the top three artists and their schools are:
1st
School – £750
Pupil – £300
Runners-up (x 2)
School – £400
Pupil – £150
The winner and runners-up will also receive six tickets each for the 2013 Virgin Money Fireworks Concert in Edinburgh.
For more information contact our media team on 0131-226-0026 or email [email protected].
Images of past winners are available. The winner of the 2012 competition was Marc Robb, age 8, from Bainsford Primary School, Falkirk.