Spirited Arts Competition 2024
This academic year marks 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 Creature’s’, Veganism in Education (VinE) and the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) are sponsoring 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. We are excited to announce entries for 2024 are now open!
This theme invites creativity and critical thinking around the important issue of how we humans value and act towards other animals. Use of religious stories, texts and ideas is strongly encouraged! 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 will encourage a search for wisdom in texts, stories, traditions and practices from the world’s religions and philosophies. Students will 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.
NATRE welcomes entries in (almost!) any art form, including:
- Art (painting, drawing, sketching etc)
- Poetry
- Photography
- Dance
- Music
- Drama
- Sculpture
The competition runs from the beginning of the school year to 31 July 2024
Full details can be found on NATRE’s website here.
Be inspired by last year’s entries for All God’s creatures – 2023 gallery
