VinE and NATRE celebrate World Vegan Day with Spirited Arts animal-theme winners
The 2024 academic year marked the 20ᵗʰ Anniversary of NATRE’s Spirited Arts Competition! Since 2004 Spirited Arts has attracted over 450,000 entrants. Annually, they receive an average of over 25,000 entries for judging. Hundreds of UK schools get involved and they get entries from as far afield as Hong Kong, USA, Australia, Thailand and Bahrain.
Following the amazing success of our 2023 theme ‘All God’s Creatures’, Veganism in Education (VinE) and the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) sponsored another animal theme – ‘Why do Animals Matter’. The Spirited Arts Competition provides children with the opportunity to critically think about our relationship with animals and explore our RE Today resources.
This year’s entries to the NATRE international Spirited Arts competition on the theme “Why Do Animals Matter?” were truly spectacular! It is the second year that Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) and Veganism in Education (VinE) have sponsored a theme that enables children and young people to explore human-animal relations and to think deeply about the moral and spiritual aspects of all living beings. Once again, we were blown away by the children’s extraordinary artistic creations and deeply reflective narratives. Each piece not only showcased remarkable talent but also conveyed profound insights into the significance of animals in our lives, offering thought-provoking perspectives on empathy and compassion through the unique lens of religious education.
This year’s judging held an extra special touch, as the founders of AIA and VinE travelled alongside our Patron, the esteemed academic Dr Richard Ryder, to RE Today’s headquarters in Birmingham. There, we had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful RE Today Team and Angela Hill, the visionary behind RE Today’s pioneering resources on ethical veganism as a worldview. These resources were commissioned by VinE and supported by the AIA and have been freely available to teachers and schools since January 2023. Angela’s work inspired the animal theme and supported school engagement, enriching the children’s interpretations and bringing thoughtful, compassionate approaches to their artwork.
Selecting winners from thousands of entries proved immensely challenging, as each submission showcased exceptional creativity and insight worthy of recognition. We are especially grateful to our Patron, Dr Richard Ryder, for undertaking the difficult task of selecting the theme’s winners and runners-up.
Dr Richard Ryder
“I have very much enjoyed helping in the judging of the Spirited Arts competition, and I thought the children showed high levels of creativity and concern for the animals. I am proud also as AIA’s President and VinE’s Patron that so many children showed a clear ethical concern.
“I believe, as a psychologist, that most children are concerned and interested in members of other species. This is not just a children’s interest, but one that can and should last throughout life. In my childhood, however, adults too often tried to stop this interest as being “sissy”. Far from it: such interests and compassion are the foundation for a moral community of all painient beings”
A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved – teachers, students, NATRE and the RE Today team – for making this year’s theme a resounding success! We can’t wait to judge the entries to next year’s animal theme!
You can access the FREE ethical veganism as a worldview resources from RE Today & VinE here
WHY DO ANIMALS MATTER?
The theme invited creativity and critical thinking around the important issue of how we humans value and act towards other animals. Religions and ethical belief systems promote kindness and compassion, and call upon people to actively avoid doing harm… the Golden Rule demands that we treat others how we would wish to be treated. But do these moral codes extend to animals as well as other humans? Can they? Should they? Do some animals matter more than others? Engaging with this theme encourages a search for wisdom in texts, stories, traditions and practices from the world’s religions and philosophies. Students can reflect and think with care about humanity’s relationship with the other animals who share the earth with us. Younger children may express the spirituality of their love for animals. Older students may grapple with diverse opinions on animal welfare and rights.
Our RE Today Resources and Golden Rule song support engagement with this theme.
NATRE welcomes entries in (almost!) any art form, including:
- Art (painting, drawing, sketching etc)
- Poetry
- Photography
- Dance
- Music
- Drama
- Sculpture
Details of next year’s competition will be available on NATRE’s website here.
