In January we launched our first MIMA Great Create competition, open to anyone over the age of 16 in the North East. With a regional theme, we invited entrants to tell us about their love of the North East in a creative way and a wide range of drawings, paintings, illustrations, comic strips, graphic designs, fashion designs, videos, photographs and musical pieces were sent in.
Picking a winner was a daunting task for our illustrious panel of creative industry judges, from Film Producers to Cartoonists and Heads of Brand, who anonymously marked each entry against its fit to the brief, creativity, originality and ability to convey a lived experience of the area, amongst other things.
Six finalists were selected and they brought family and friends to join staff from the School of Arts and Creative Industries for an informal finalists celebration lunch on 28th May at the MIMA Gallery, where a pop-up exhibition of their entries was displayed.
Elinor Morgan, Artisic Director for MIMA Gallery announced the winner of the Apple MacBook Pro – Jonathan Raiseborough for his illustration “Boro Skyline”.
Second place went to Ella Miller for her risograph print
and third place went to Airen Sopany for her fabric and fashion design.
Comments on the winning entry from our industry judges included:
The line work and composition in this image is just extraordinary. I love the limited choice of colours. The sense of space is really interesting as well taking it from the natural to the urban in one image but presenting it as a ying and yang rather than as contrasting forces.
Beautifully detailed, from top to bottom. It really makes the viewer feel as though they know the area. Really nice use of colours, shading (especially on the water) and composition to draw the viewer in.
A lovingly executed work. So much to see, all beautifully tied together and well organised. Not a bit of wasted space. An excellent evocation of the wild, unseen side of Teesside, much appreciated by those who know about it. Thoughtful and well done.
The success of the inaugural MIMA Great Create competition has motivated us to continue with a new competition to be launched in September. The new theme will be revealed on our competition web page and lecturers will be visiting schools and colleges in the region to tell students how they can enter, so keep your eye on this page for news coming soon!
