The Creative New England program today announced the winners of their first online competition with over 100 photographers responding to the theme ‘There’s no place like home’.
“Creative New England aims to provide an outlet for people who want to try out new activities and get involved in a range of creative activities, online events and competitions,” said Robert Heather, UNE Director of Advancement, Communications and Events. “We invite our students, staff, alumni and the wider community to get involved with this program and join us on social media and online.
“Participants will have the opportunity to learn some new skills, experiment with an activity outside their comfort zone and share the results with each other.”
This program is being developed in collaboration with a number of local arts organisations and creatives across the New England region to showcase the talents within our local community including the New England Writers Centre, New England Regional Art Museum, Arts North West, Tamworth Regional Gallery and others.
The first online activity to be run was the ‘No place like home’ photography competition developed with Armidale based professional photographer Simon Scott who provided online smartphone photography tips and helped to judge the 107 entries received.
The winners of the competition were:
- 1st Prize ($120) – Teneille Schofield of Armidale who is employed as an Academic Integrity Support Officer at UNE (featured)
"I have a passion for photography as an art and a creative expression. For me, creativity brings great enrichment to life. Creative New England is a wonderful initiative - especially at tumultuous times like this"
- 2nd Prize ($100) – Romain Pondard of the Gold Coast
"I want to share emotions through pictures. This is a shot of my girlfriend, Emily, who was a student at UNE. She longs for the day when we will not have to #StayHome".
- 3rd Prize ($80) – Meribeth Hall of Armidale
"I caught my son Blair and dog Bob watching the rain"
The winning entries can be viewed here.
Creative New England would like to thank the judges Simon Scott, photographer; Rachael Parsons, Art Museum Director at New England Regional Art Museum; Robert Heather, Director, UNE Office of Advancement, Communications and Events and Professor Michael Wilmore, Dean of UNE Faculty of Humanities, Arts , Social Sciences and Education for their time in selecting the prize winners.
“We received over 110 fabulously thoughtful images that were submitted from our students, staff, alumni, and the wider community, and, as judges, it was quite a tricky task!” said the judges. “The quality of the entries was just brilliant, and we have all been thoroughly impressed that each image created an incredible sense of time and place in this current situation we all find ourselves in.”
The next Creative New England competition is the Short Story Competition being run in collaboration with the New England Writers’ Centre and Armidale based author Sophie Masson. Details about the competition and writing tips are available online at https://www.unelife.com.au/babh/cne/short-story-competition
Find out more about the Creative New England program at https://www.unelife.com.au/babh/cne and like the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/creativenewengland/
Interview & collaboration opportunities:
Alahna Fiveash, Creative New England program co-ordinator at University of New England on 0497 846 319 or email afiveas2@une.edu.au or creativene@une.edu.au
