Beechwood College – National Competition Final Celebrating The Creativity Of Young People With Autism
By Effective Communication
Welsh students’ creativity recognised with national awards
Two Welsh teenagers are celebrating having beaten off competition from hundreds of other students to be declared winners at a ceremony to celebrate Beechwood College’s national art competition – organised to showcase the creativity of young people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).
Beechwood College in Sully is one of the UK’s leading specialist residential colleges for students with an ASC.
The competition, Create! Art for Autism, was open to all young people aged 11-25 formally diagnosed with an ASC. It sought to dispel the myth that they cannot be creative and show that art can significantly improve the lives of those with an ASC.
More than 350 entries were received from 52 different schools from all over the UK, and as far away as India and Croatia.
Awards were presented in categories including 2D and 3D Art, and Digital. There was also a Teacher’s Choice award.
Eighteen year-old Sam Fitzgerald who attends St Cenydd School in Caerphilly was declared overall winner in the Digital category with his entry, entitled ‘Angel’ described by the judges as having a ‘haunting and metaphysical quality’.
Speaking about her son’s success, Sam’s mother Lynsey said:
“It is fantastic and inspirational to see that Sam’s skills have been recognised and that unnecessary barriers have been removed to enable his photography to be celebrated in public for all to see and enjoy.”
As well as a certificate marking his achievement, Sam was presented with a Flip video camera which will enable him to capture videos at the touch of a button, and prizes to benefit his school, including Stop Motion Pro Action Software.
Fifteen year-old Alexander Fox-Robinson, a pupil at Pembroke School picked up the Teacher’s Choice Award for his pencil drawing, ‘The Blitz’.
Alexander also received a certificate for his efforts, and a £50 One4all gift card to spend on items of his choice.
The competition was particularly significant following recent research highlighting a strong link between artistic creativity and people with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.
The judging panel included: Brendan Stuart Burns, twice winner of the National Eisteddfod Gold Medal in Fine Art and lecturer at The University of Glamorgan; Lucinda Bredin, Editor at Bonhams Magazine; Hugh Morgan OBE, Chief Executive of Autism Cymru; and Darren Jackson, Principal of Beechwood College.
Darren commented:
“The large number of entries and the high quality of work has demonstrated how art and creativity programmes transform the lives of people with ASC who have previously struggled to express themselves.”
“We are committed to building on the success of Create! next year and will extend the categories to encourage more young people to enter the competition to build on their talents and creativity.”
Judge, Brendan Stuart-Burns added:
“This is not an art competition about Autism, the art that has been created throughout this project is pure and rich in energy and emotion, and full of the passion of those we teach and it is so pleasing for me to see that in art all things are equal.”
All the finalists’ work is currently on display at The Old Library, Cardiff and will remain there until Sunday 7th August. It will then move to London early in the autumn.
The award winners:
Digital Art
Sam Fitzgerald, 18, from St Cenydd School, Caerphilly
Teachers’ Choice Award
Alexander Fox-Robinson, 15, from Pembroke School, Pembroke
2D Art
Julien Soret, 15, from TreeHouse School, London
3D Art
Esther Whitney, 24, from Birmingham City University
Tags: Beechwood College, Create! Art for Autism, ic Spectrum Condition, Sam Fitzgerald
