Dr Andrew Conio, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art was a member of the judging panel for the John Downton Awards for Young Artists, a county-wide school’s art prize sponsored by the University.

The Ceremony was held on 10 November at County Hall in Maidstone, where an exhibition of shortlisted work will be shown until 3 January 2017, with selected works on tour at the Turner Contemporary in Margate during January and February 2017.

The John Downton Award for Young Artists is an annual exhibition, which encourages and celebrates the creativity of Kent’s young artists. The exhibition commemorates the life and work of John Downton, the celebrated Kent artist, poet and philosopher.

Awards were given for Mixed Media, Painting, Drawing and Photography in 11-15 and 16-18 age groups and overall Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit awards.

This is Dr Conio’s second year as judge. He commented: ‘The number and range of works submitted shows that art is extremely vibrant in Kent schools. The range of media, technical skills and willingness to address issues relevant to young people today to was exciting to see, and made judging very difficult.’

The judging panel, comprising the painter Charles Williams from Canterbury, Mike Addison printmaker and illustrator and Head of School of Further Education at the University of the Creative Arts, brought a range of experience and perspectives to the judging process but all they agreed that winning entries were excellent examples of art practice and indicated a promising future for the artists.

For more info go to http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/arts/john-downton-awards