WHAT IS PROMART 2023?
BACKGROUND TO THE COMPETITION
Brecon Town Concert Band, a concert wind band, bringing together amateur and professional musicians of all ages, launched its Last Night of the Prom concert series in 2012. In 2017, the Band celebrated its 50 anniversary with a performance of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and the launch of the first annual PromArt art competition to promote, celebrate and showcase the artistic talents of students studying in schools across Powys. Working in conjunction with the Lumen Prize for digital art and Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, this inaugural competition attracted over 350 entrants with 80 shortlisted and winning works displayed in the Andrew Lamont Gallery at the Theatr Brycheiniog for 4 weeks. Three top winners, selected by age group, won a total of £180. The shortlisted works were also projected onto a screen above the Band whilst the music was performed.
THE COMPETITION
This year’s competition is open to students studying at any school in the County of Powys and surrounding areas. All shortlisted works will be included in an exhibition at Theatr Brycheiniog – both digitally as well as physically. There will also be a projection of work during this year’s Prom Concert on 7th October 2023 at the Theatre. There will be 5 cash prizes, awarded by age group on the night, as well as honourable mentions.
There is also an open category for any age but there are no prizes in this category. These works will be included in the exhibition only.
The 2023 competition is asking entrants to create art - physically or digitally - based on the music listed below, all of which is based on people or events.
Last Night of the Proms Ballet music 7th October 2023– background information
The 2023 concert will contain performances of some well- known ballet music
Bolero - Maurice Ravel
The Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia - Aram Khachaturian
Berceuse and Finale from the Firebird Suite - Igor Stravinsky
The Rite of Spring - Igor Stravinsky
Swan Lake - Piotr Tchaikovsky
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Entrants are asked to use their imagination to depict any of the above scenes or characters from the ballet they were written for.
Artwork can be in any medium up to A2 size and should be emailed as JPEG files to promartcompetition2023@gmail.com
The competition welcomes digitally-created art including animations, GIFs, and moving images. These can also be sent by email with YouTube or Vimeo links to the work. All physical submissions must be delivered to Theatr Brycheiniog by the closing date of the 20th July 2023.
THE PRIZES
Prizes worth £250 will be awarded at the Concert on Saturday 7th October 2023: £20 cash prize in the Primary School category, Years 1 – 3; £20 for the winner in Years 4 - 6. For secondary school students, there will be a £70 cash prize for years 7 - 9; £70 for years 10 - 11 and £70 for years 12 - 13. There is no monetary prize for the open age category. All shortlisted entries will be projected onto a screen above the stage whilst the band is performing the music at the Concert on 7th October 2023.
The Theatr will hold an exhibition of all shortlisted PromArt work submitted in the Andrew Lamont Gallery - the launch of the exhibition will be at 6pm on Friday 29th September. There will be a small group of musicians from the Band who will perform extracts of some of the ballet music. Digital works will be exhibited on screens in the Theatr, or can be projected or printed according to the artist’s wish. Curation and hanging of the physical artwork will be carried out by Theatr Brycheiniog.
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TO ENTER THE PROMART COMPETITION
Students may enter the competition individually. Please send an email to promartcompetition2023@gmail.com with your name, school year and school name and your entry attached in JPEG or MP4 file.
Please label all attached files with the same information – entrants name, school year and school name.
Schools may submit on behalf of those students wishing to enter the competition but must label each attachment individually.
Students are limited to one entry but there is no limit to how many entries one school may submit.
THE JUDGES
Carla Rapoport is Executive Director and Founder of the Lumen Prize and Lumen Art Projects, based in Llangasty, Brecon. She aims to build opportunities for digital artists globally through her work with Lumen as well as consulting, speaking and writing about the genre for clients around the world. Carla is also a committee member of the Brecon Town Band.
Ruth Lloyd is an arts, culture and learning consultant based in Brecon, Mid Wales. Ruth has worked in the arts sector for over twenty-five years She established the flagship Museum Residency Programme at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London and was Programme Manager for the Exhibition Road Cultural Group where she contributed to the development of the cultural programme for the London 2012 Olympics. As a freelance consultant in Powys, Ruth works with a wide range of organisations to develop arts and culture policy and programmes.
Punch Maughan is the owner of Found Gallery in Brecon where she curates nine different exhibitions a year. The gallery features artists, photographers and makers from across the UK. Previously the Visual Arts Coordinator at Theatr Brycheiniog Punch was involved in the inaugural PromArt competition in 2017.