Arryann’s artwork is Fringe hit
Edinburgh Festival triumph
A Blairgowrie teenager has been announced as the Perth and Kinross winner of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe schools poster competition.
Arryann Duncan (14) from Blairgowrie High School won the regional competition, and will now have her winning design displayed at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
And fellow Blairgowrie High School pupil Jenna Simpson was the regional runner-up in the competition.
The competition, which was initially launched in 1980, sees children from across Scotland design posters for a chance to be featured on the front cover of the Fringe brochure.
This year, 238 classes from 187 schools across the country entered the competition to mark the Edinburgh Fringe’s 70th anniversary.
The competition was judged by a panel of experts, including the competition’s champion artist Jon Bishop who commented: “Creativity is something to be celebrated and nurtured both in school and throughout life.
“Arryann’s entry experiments with depths and scale, and shows the iconic Forth Rail Bridge.
“The mosaic explosion illustrates the wealth of culture on display at the Fringe.”
Shona McCarthy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s chief executive, said: “We had a fantastic response to the competition in this our 70th anniversary year.
“The variety of ideas and different creative techniques we received from across Scotland were truly inspiring.
“It’s wonderful to see so much creativity which made it incredibly difficult for the judging panel to select the winners.
“The Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival and the greatest platform on earth for creative freedom - it presents a wonderful opportunity for school children across Scotland to learn about, and to engage in, the arts and creative industries.
“The Fringe Society has an ongoing commitment to supporting teachers and young people to enhance these skills for the future.”
Principal teacher of art and design at Blairgowrie High School, Sam Kennedy, added: “There were 5,000 entries in the competition and the girls both did brilliantly.
“We are really proud of them and are looking forward to seeing their work in the exhibition and gallery this summer.”
The girls’ winning design will be on display at a free exhibition in Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth from June 6 until August 28.