Over 135 child artists awarded at ‘Arunalu Siththam’

Child artists from all over Sri Lanka and some overseas locations were rewarded for their creative expression with cash prizes totalling Rs 3 million recently, at the conclusion of the fourth edition of ‘Arunalu Siththam’ – the island-wide children’s art competition conducted by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon.

Exclusively for children between the ages of four and 16, the competition was hosted under the banner of the Bank’s popular children’s savings account ‘Arunalu’ and was also open this year to Sri Lankan children living overseas.

More than 12,000 drawings were uploaded to www.arunalusiththam.lk as entries in the five age groups, and Commercial Bank invited 137 winners and their family members to the awards ceremony and exhibition at Apé Gama in Sri Jayewardenepura. The exhibition featured 274 drawings that won cash prizes in the 2021 and 2022 editions of Arunalu Siththam.

The judging of drawings submitted for this year’s competition was entrusted to an expert panel of judges headed by Professor Susiripala Malimboda.

The 25 youngest winners in the Local Pre-School category were each awarded a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and certificates. Another 50 participants in this category were awarded Merit Certificates. The drawings that won first place in the other four Local age categories each received a cash prize of Rs 100,000, while the second and third placed drawings in these categories received cash prizes of Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively, along with certificates. In each of the Local Post-Primary, Primary, Junior and Senior categories 25 contestants also received Awards of Excellence with cash prizes of Rs 10,000 each and certificates. Another 50 contestants from each of these four categories were awarded Merit Certificates. In the new category introduced for Sri Lankan children who are resident outside Sri Lanka, two winners were awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each, the Bank said.