30th Birthday Art Competition: meet the winners

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Henry Moore Institute celebrated its 30^th Birthday with an art competition to redesign the front of our building.

We first opened in April 1993 as a centre for the study of sculpture. Architects Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones redesigned three existing offices to create the Institute, adding a black granite façade to the new front of the building.

We asked what you would do if you could redesign the front of our building, and we received over a hundred fantastic responses, from paintings and drawings to sculptures, collages and digital art.

It was tough to narrow down so many great entries, but we’ve picked three winners from each category below, who will all be receiving vouchers for the art supplies shop Fred Aldous.

Do you agree with our choices? Who is your favourite? Let us know on our social media channels.

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@henrymooreinstitute

Facebook
@henrymooreinstitute

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@HMILeeds

Under 11s category

First place: Thomas Hay, age 10

We loved the curved shapes, different textures and the layers of shading Thomas used, which made the design feel really three dimensional. We also thought the Henry Moore logo was very inventive and sculptural.

Second place: Connor-Lee Bedder

Connor’s design is really playful and eye-catching. We loved the idea of lots of doodles all over the front of the building. We also liked the style of Connor’s drawing and the range of shapes and characters he had created.

Third place: Rowan Booth, age 7

Rowan’s design is really three dimensional, and very abstract which we liked! The design completely fills the front of the building and feels very hand-made.

Special commendation: Greenfield Primary School

We received entries from an entire class at Greenfield Primary School in Barnsley, so we had to come up with an extra special commendation for their efforts.

We were particularly impressed with this colourful design by Ronnie. You can see all the entries from Greenfield Primary School below.

Age 12 to 17 category

First place: Ottilie Haylett

Ottilie’s design really stood out. We loved the use of colour, the way the sculptural elements mix with the 2D drawing, and how the design appears to flow down the building. The mother and child figures are very reminiscent of Moore’s work, with the hand and sphere adding an extra abstract element.

Second place: Skanda Ravindra

Skanda’s design is beautiful, with fantastic use of colour, shading and outlining which really makes it stand out. The layers of colour and fine details are very effective.

Third place: Eileen

Eilieen’s design is really bold! It takes the existing black front of the building and disrupts it with colour and shape. We loved how the pattern is both geometric and curvy at the same time.

Adult category

First place: Giang Le Huong

We were really intrigued by Giang’s design. The abstract shapes that crawl or grow out of the façade could be many different things. They’re really three dimensional and feel really hand-made and sculptural.

Second place: Joe Downing

We were really impressed with the amount of work Joe had put into his entry. We loved how the architectural details reflected the city around the Institute, and really liked the thought put into the lighting options and the new ways we could use the front of the building.

Kayla Villamil Martinez (adult category)

Third place: Kayla Villamil Martinez

We really liked the way Kayla’s design was neat and geometric while also retaining a hand-made feel. The lines that flow around the façade really animate the shape of the building, and the spheres and circles add a 3D element to the design.

Download artwork template

Although the competition is now over and we cannot accept new entries, if you’d still like to have a go at redesigning our building you can download a copy of the template here to print at home and get creative with.

Download the competition template (PDF, 1mb)