Aicha’s artwork can be viewed online early next year

POLOKWANE – The Child Art Competition is one of South Africa’s oldest social investment projects and was started in 1963 to develop the notion that art is a valuable aspect of human development.

Although the project is aimed at promoting a love of art among youth, it also provides them with an opportunity to express thoughts and ideas creatively. Through the years the Santam project has developed into a nationally recognised initiative that now incorporates a national art competition, an online exhibition of selected artworks, an art calendar, as well as informal art centres at schools around the country.

Aicha Mengouchi, a learner from Pepps also took part in this competition.

The Child Art winners for 2016 are made up of 13 national winners and 316 online winners, of which Aicha is one. The online exhibition will go live in the first quarter of 2016.

13 winning artworks are selected every year to appear in their calendar. This year, Santam received more than 4 000 entries across the nation. The theme was: A place of dreams.

“It was very interesting to see how far and wide the children could go when imagining their dreams,” said Tersia Mdunge, corporate social investment manager at Santam. “We were excited to see the different interpretations of this theme across the age groups, their innocence and wild imaginations are always so inspirational. The learners have all done an outstanding job with their artworks.”