Three talented young artists are the winning recipients of the Sovereign Art Foundation Portugal 2020 Prize.
The students’ artwork was exhibited at the Lady in Red – Galeria de Arte in Lagoa, but this year Sovereign was unable to hold a prize-winning ceremony.
This was the fourth Prize to be held in Portugal and organiser Isobel Costa from Sovereign Consultoria – Lda in Lagoa, explained that the main purpose of the Prize is to inspire, encourage and reward young artists in the community, to foster cultural development and raise funds for disadvantaged children and young adults in the region.
All students from years 10, 11 and 12 from Secondary schools in the Algarve and Alto Alentejo were invited to participate.
The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF), a non-profit organisation and registered charity, was established in 2003, initially in Asia, to recognise the growing wealth of contemporary art talent and bring the proven benefits of expressive arts to underprivileged children.
The Foundation has so far raised more than US$9 million for artists and charities worldwide. The Sovereign Art Prizes raise funds by auctioning artworks from the competitions held in Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe, with the proceeds being shared equally between the artists and the Foundation who then uses the funds for their charity work with disadvantaged children in using art as a means of education, rehabilitation and therapy.
The winners of this year’s Portugal Prize were:
1st Judges Prize – Cozmin Razvan Olalau, aged 18, with ‘Reading the Journal’. The art was inspired by the original ‘Lendo o Jornal’ by impressionist José Malhoa and was created using acrylic and paper collage on canvas to create a 3D newspaper effect. Cozmin wins €750 for himself and 750€ for his Secondary School Poeta António Aleixo in Portimão. Cozmin was delighted when a phone call confirmed he had won: “I have never won anything in my life! I want to thank my teacher Rosa Maria Lima Azevedo Barracha Silva who helped and inspired me so much. This is so important to me as it was the third time I entered, and I just wanted to exhibit my work and to be part of the prize again.” Cozmin is now studying a Fine Art degree in Coventry University in the UK.
2nd Judges Prize – Amanda Rocha, aged 17, with her oil on card artwork entitled ‘We’re the Same’. Amanda’s artwork was inspired by the discriminations based on human skin tones. The girl represented confidently exposes her skin condition, vitiligo and compares herself with the very same patterns of the carps that surround her. Amanda wins €500 for herself and €500 for her school Escola Secundária Tomás Cabreira in Faro.
Public Vote Prize – André Tavares Varandas, aged 16. The Public Vote Prize is awarded to the picture which receives the most votes from the public at the Prize’s exhibitions and online. It went to André Varandas with his artwork entitled ‘Shell’, a “fusion between the natural object and the artificial”, which was created with watercolour pencils and pens on paper. André said he worked hard to promote his art on social media and was delighted to have won. He wins €300 for himself and €300 for his school Escola Básica e Secundária de Albufeira.
Visitors to the Prize’s exhibitions were able to bid on the art, with the proceeds being divided between the artists and the charity project chosen by Sovereign for this Prize, which is NECI – Núcleo Especializado para o Cidadão Incluso, located in Praia da Luz.
NECI is an institution that has many different types of art workshops for their resident and non-resident teenagers and young adults with disabilities. The art produced in the workshops is sold to raise funds for NECI themselves.
The Students Prize Algarve is only possible with the help of their sponsors Lady in Red – Galeria de Arte, Open Media Group, Fine & Country Algarve, Design Works, Sandie Croft Art, Município de Albufeira, Marina de Lagos, Instituto Português do Desporto e Juventude (IPDJ) Faro, British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, Howards Folly and Carvoeiro Clube. Sovereign is grateful for all their support.
The standard of the students’ work was once again outstanding and congratulations to all the finalists and those involved in this charitable venture.
Visit SovereignArtFoundation.com for more information.
