Entries are now open for the 2016 Paddon Award Arts Competition

The Paddon Award was originally established to encourage participation in the arts and in memory of two alumni who contributed greatly to fostering collaboration between alumni and students. According to the Arts and Culture website, “This is the Diamond Jubilee year for the University, a time when we are celebrating all we have achieved so far, and what we have to look forward to. This year’s Paddon Award theme takes its inspiration from the Jubilee and we invite everyone to share and express their feelings around the theme of Celebration. What does celebration mean to you?”

Creative pieces can be entered in any of the following categories:

• Film - maximum length of 5 minutes

• Prose - poem or short story, maximum 1000 words

• Musical Composition- an original piece of music, maximum 5 minutes

• Visual arts - a painting, illustration, sculpture, print or photograph

The first prize will be £250 cash and the opportunity to have further one-to-one session with the judge of the winner’s choice at a later date; the second prize is £100 cash and the third prize is £50 cash.

This year's judges will be;

• Alexander Beleschenko, an honorary graduate of the University, who designed the wonderful artwork in the glass of the Forum Building
• Michael Jecks, author of medieval murder mysteries set on Dartmoor
• Katie O'Connor, Student Guild Vice President for Activities

Full competition details and rules can be found on the Arts and Culture website. The deadline for entries is Monday 15 February 2016 at 5pm, with the winners being announced at the final judging event.

Naome Glanville, the University’s Arts and Culture Co-ordinator said, “We are hoping for a wide variety of interpretations of the theme of ‘Celebration’ in the University’s Diamond Jubilee year. The high standard of creativity by students, staff and alumni shown in previous years of the competition has been astounding, and we hope that this year will be no exception.”

This year’s judging event will be from 5-7pm on Wednesday 16 March in the Roborough Studios on Streatham Campus. All are welcome to attend. Find more details here. Please note: all entrants must be available to perform or display their entry at the final judging event.

Last year’s theme was ‘Transformations’ and Christy Ku received the first prize for the Paddon Award 2015 when she performed her touching and sensitive poem about the ephemeral nature of life, 'It All Passes'.

For any questions regarding the competition please contact Naome Glanville, Arts & Culture Co-ordinator (n.r.glanville@exeter.ac.uk).