Sense of humour shows in environmental artwork

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Whakatane artist Andrea Cooper’s current artistic passion is for rugby: her latest body of work shows “in your face, up close and emotional” rugby. So it was quite a change judging Environment Bay of Plenty’s annual environmental art awards.

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Sense of humour shows in environmental artwork

For immediate release: Monday 4 September 2006

Bay of Plenty kids have a great sense of humour which they express in their artwork, says the judge of this year’s Environment Bay of Plenty environmental art awards.

Whakatane artist Andrea Cooper faced a major challenge when judging the annual awards for school students. With 360 pieces of art, in so many different styles, it was no easy task.

However, she found the variety and use of mixed media quite impressive. She says the winners stood out for their individual approaches to the theme, which was water is everybody’s business. “Children are so great with colour and they have a sense of humour” which shows through in their work.

Now in their ninth year, Environment Bay of Plenty runs the awards for primary, intermediate and secondary school students, with prizes for both the winning entrants and their schools. They are always popular, with schools sending packages of entries in to them, says coordinator Esther Mae.

Main award winners are:
Junior primary: Shayne Ward, Opotiki Primary School 1; Grace Heays, Rotokawa School 2, Blake Grossett, Ohope Beach School 3.
Senior Primary: Mikayla Apiti, Ohope Beach School 1, Sam Corston, Ohope Beach School 2, Steven Morrison, Whakamarama School, 3
Intermediate: Josephine Shum, Otumoetai Intermediate School 1, Beaudene Waikato, Pukauaki Primary School 2, Olivia Mexted, Nukuhou North School 3.

The winning entries will be displayed at different venues around the region over the next few weeks. They are:
Whakatane Library: September 4 to 15
Rotorua Library: September 18 to 29
Tauranga Environment Centre: October 2 to 13

ENDS

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