Merseyside’s best young artists crowned

Two budding young artists are celebrating after battling it out with more than 900 pupils from schools across the Liverpool City Region to be named the area’s best young artists.

Erin Gerrard, a Year 9 student from The Sutton Academy and Grace McKeown a Year 5 student from Knotty Ash Primary School, were crowned the overall winners of the dot-art schools competition at a special prize-giving ceremony at St George’s Hall.

Erin’s winning pen drawing titled “Intergalactic” and Grace’s charcoal drawing titled “Lost Soul” both featured alongside the other shortlisted artworks, in the fifth exhibition in the dot-art schools competition’s history.

Following the exhibition at St George’s Hall, prints of the artworks were displayed at Merseyrail’s Lime Street lower level train station.

dot-art schools is already a well-established fixture in the academic calendar for many Merseyside schools; since its inception almost 4000 students from over 200 schools have taken part.

This is the fifth year it will take place in the Liverpool City Region and due to its success and a new partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, a pilot scheme for Cheshire was launched this year.

dot-art schools project manager Carolyn Murray said: “The standard of work was outstanding again this year and it’s thrilling to see we have so many talented young artists in the region.

“The exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for the public to check out the best work by some of region’s rising stars”.