Culford School Pupil Wins Prestigious Saatchi Prize

31 Mar 2014

Old Culfordian Harry Reidy was named last night by the Saatchi Gallery as the winner of its prestigious Saatchi Gallery/Deutsche Bank Art Prize for Schools. The win rewards Culford’s art department with £10,000, as well as £2,000 for Harry Reidy to spend on art and computer equipment. Harry is currently studying at Kingswood College, South Africa.

As one of the largest international competitions in the world, the Saatchi Gallery Art Prize for Schools is open to primary, secondary and sixth form schools throughout the world, with the prize this year receiving over 16,000 entries from 33 countries. Inspired by the grounds of Culford School, Harry created the shortlisted sculpture as part of his A-level studies at Culford whilst in the Upper Sixth in 2012/13.

The judges for this year’s prize included the author and illustrator Laura Dockrill, art advisor to Deutsche Bank and critic Alistair Hicks, artist Bob and Roberta Smith and Saatchi Online director Rebecca Wilson. Bob and Roberta Smith, Artist and judge commented, “It was such fun, and at times moving, looking through submissions to the Saatchi Gallery/ Deutsche Bank Art prize for Schools. Many of the images really sung out to me! Young people’s art is so appealing because it’s all about the ‘cry’ of the artist. As artists develop art can become about the language of art, but in many of the works in this show it’s as if you can hear some of the strong voices of the art of the future.”

The Saatchi Gallery has almost 30 years of history in supporting emerging artists and bringing contemporary art to as wide an audience as possible. This prize is a central part of that work, encouraging budding young artists by providing them with a platform to showcase their work and the confidence to consider a career in the arts. The 20 shortlisted entries are showcased in an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery until 5 March.

Culford School recently launched its newly refurbished Art gallery, part of The Campaign for Culford, with an exhibition of work by students of the Royal Academy Schools in October 2013. Culford Art scholarships are also available from age 13, please contact the Admissions Office on 01284 385308 for more information.