Dunedin was host to a national art and writing competition during July; thematically inspired by Mother Teresa's charitable sentiments.
‘Doing small things with great love’ was this year's theme for the ‘Love Reaches Out’ creative initiative; encouraging an exploration of how we can show love to others. Previous years had similar topics, including ‘Caring for our World’ (2014) and 'Love in Action' (2016).
Children between kindergarten age and Year 8 were invited to submit artistic interpretations or representations of the theme. The entries came in a range of formats: painting, sketching, sculpture, poetry, and short stories.
“We know many kids have very creative ideas,” said Carolyn Sims, Community
Mission Coordinator and competition facilitator, “so we encouraged them to get creative and it's been great to see what has been submitted. We were thrilled to have over 150 entries sent in to us.”
The competition was a perfect activity for Buddy Programme pairs and other interested children, with a number getting together to discuss and create art on Saturday, 8 July. The day was a wonderful opportunity for fun and vibrancy!
For the first time in the five year history of the competition, all of the submitted works are part of a public exhibition, on display at Knox Presbyterian Church (Dunedin) from Thursday 10 August to Tuesday 15 August.
Love Reaches Out is a joint activity coordinated by Presbyterian Support's Family Works service, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, Kids Friendly and the Presbyterian Church Schools.
written by Jack Sharp