DSI inspires future generation through art competition
DSI, the Sri Lankan footwear specialist, said last week it was re- launching Sithuwili, an art competition to capture and nurture the inherent talent in school children in a countrywide competition.
The competition provides an opportunity to children from all parts of Sri Lanka - from privileged backgrounds to the underprivileged to express their thoughts, impressions, views and concepts through drawing and painting. Unlike in the past with international schools being added to the number of national schools, the competition will take on a bigger than life proportion at a national level. The competition has been conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Education from inception giving the competition the stature and validity of a national competition, the company said in a media statement.
To encourage wider participation, entries are to be accepted in any medium including pencil, colour pencil, crayon, water colours, charcoal etc.
“The competition was first launched in 1992 on the assump- tion that children were only concentrating on studies and not developing their aesthetic skills. The exhibition has encouraged budding young talent but it was conducted until 2007, as art competitions became very common,” Head of Marketing at DSI, Rohan Somawansa said.
Entry to the competition does not require a fee; it’s a foolproof process requiring signatures and endorsements from school art teachers and principals. Entries will be coded and no names will be used in the competition to retain anonymity. Entries are now open and will close in May. The panel of judges will comprise a competent team of experts and artists.
The total sum of prize money for participants has been increased to Rs. 6 million with a Rs. 50,000 first prize at all island level and Rs. 30,000 for second place and Rs. 20,000 for third place, respectively. At provincial level the first prize is Rs. 3,000, second prize Rs. 2,000 and a third prize of Rs. 1,000. In addition certificates and gift vouchers will also be awarded to all the winners.
The competition is conducted based on age groups with different themes: Grade 2- 3 on “Our environment”; Grade 4– 5 on “Respecting elders”; Grade 6- 8 on “Let us protect our environment”; Grade 9– 11 on “Let’s live a better life through good conduct” and Grade 12 –13 on “Sri Lanka in 2025”.
Nandadasa Rajapaksa, DSI Chairman and founder of this project, said that, “when we first launched the competition we had around 45,000 entries and we were very satisfied with the response but this competition has grown so popular over the years that now we receive about 150,000 entries for the contest. It is now a journey of 25 years for this art competition and over the years we have gained many insights”.
While there were only 42,000 art entries received in the competition’s year of conception in 1992, 2003 saw a staggering 118,514 entries and eventually the year 2007 peaked to a record number of 156,000 entries.
The company will use its branch network of 207 sales outlets to organise the competition through 10,000 direct and 30,000 indirect employees.