Calling young artists: Make your own version of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Six budding young artists will have the chance for their artworks to be displayed alongside Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

How do you celebrate the visit of one of the world’s most famous paintings?

If you’re the National Gallery of Australia, and you happen to have Vincent van Gogh’s wildly popular 1888 painting Sunflowers on display for a few months, you throw a kids’ party.

The NGA is the temporary custodian of Sunflowers which is part of its exhibition, Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London.

In its Kids x Van Gogh competition, to be launched today, the NGA is offering six budding young artists the chance for their artworks to be displayed alongside Sunflowers at bus stops, in shopping centres and on billboards right around Australia.

Gabriella, 10, Bridie, 8 and Nathan, 11 with their own sunflowers in front of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Picture: National Gallery of Australia

The winner of Kids x Van Gogh will even get to visit the NGA in Canberra, to see Van Gogh’s iconic 1888 painting in real life with some of their family members.

The gallery is calling on primary and secondary school artists to be inspired by Sunflowers and produce their own version of the work.

Kids can use any media they want, from collage to watercolour to the ubiquitous coloured pencils.

The competition will be judged by NGA director Nick Mitzevich, oOh!media senior executive Neil Ackland who is providing the billboards and bus stop signs, and National Gallery of Australia Tim Fairfax Assistant Director, Learning and Digital, Heather Whiteley Robertson.

The main thing is for kids to engage their imaginations, Whiteley Robinson said.

“I’m looking for expressiveness, invention, experimentation,” she said.

The competition closes at 5pm on April 15.

The six finalists’ works (and Van Gogh’s) will be display on oOh!media sites from May 3 to June 14.

Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London was organised by the NGA, Art Exhibitions Australia and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

Sunflowers rarely travels, and has never been in Australia before. It’s the visitor favourite at home, where it sells more postcards than any other picture in the British national collection.

Competition entry details can be found at https://nga.gov.au/masterpieces/comp