2024 Climate Change Painting Competition Winners Decided
2024 Climate Change Painting Competition Winners Decided
The winners of the 2024 Climate Change Painting Competition, held by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE) were decided. The competition showcased a total of 416 masterpieces by Taiwanese students and another 240 pieces from foreign counterparts. All the award-winning paintings have been made public online since June, and the actual exhibitions will be displayed later in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The theme of the competition was “Health and Wellness Champions” and it was divided into national and international categories. A total of 6,306 students from 192 junior high schools and 743 elementary schools across 22 countries and regions participated.
These countries and regions are: Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Argentina, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Brazil, India, Australia, Sweden, the United States, Bangladesh, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Iran, Austria, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Turkey, and Taiwan.
TAISE Chair Eugene Chien stated that the main concern of this year was on SDG3 – Good Health and Well-being, encouraging parents and teachers to guide students in paying attention to both personal and environmental health. This focus was especially relevant as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everyone's daily lives since 2020 and the United Nations also established a "Health Day" during COP28 last year.
Reflecting on the overall standard of this year's competition, the judges affirmed students’ efforts to grasp the theme and express their creativity through various techniques, despite the challenges posed by three years of pandemic life.
Chief Judge and President of the Association for Education Through Art Republic of China Wu Long-rong said that younger children tend to be more emotional and depict subjects with exaggerated methods, reflecting characteristics of child psychological development.
Another Chief Judge, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Director Chen Kuangyi saw that many participants became more aware of issues within the healthcare system after experiencing the global pandemic and some even highlighted regional healthcare needs and the contributions of Doctors Without Borders.
“I’m very impressed,” Chen said.
“Health education has been quite successful!" said Shin Kong Memorial Wu Ho-Su Hospital Superintendent Hou Sheng-mou.
After closely examining the entries, Hou was pleased to see that many children included healthy habits like frequent handwashing and regular exercise in their artworks, indicating that they have developed proper hygiene concepts from a young age.
Kuang Tien General Hospital Board of Directors Chief Strategy Officer Soon Maw-soan agreed with Hou’s view and observed depictions of vaccination to prevent diseases, avoiding tobacco to protect lungs, and not littering to safeguard marine life health.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang and Department of Nursing and Health Care of Ministry of Health and Welfare Deputy Director-General Tsai Yin-yin also hope that students would continue to be mindful of the influence of climate change on health in their daily lives.
“During sudden temperature changes, it is crucial to monitor the health of elderly family members,” Chuang mentioned.
Regarding the painting techniques, Taipei Fine Arts Museum Director Wang Jun-jieh appreciated the diverse mediums used in this year’s entries. Illustrator Wang Chien-tz also commended the children's ability to depict battles against viruses using various techniques.
However, Emerita Professor Lin Mun-lee from the Department of Arts and Design at National Taipei University of Education and Illustrator Rebecca Chen hoped students would further master aesthetic composition and unique expression.
“Combining beauty and creativity in works is key to making a lasting impression,” Lin said.
In addition to the Traditional Artwork Category, a new Digital Artwork Category was introduced for junior high school students this year. Judge, Illustrator Wu Yihsin said that the entries reflected the children's pandemic experiences and creativity regarding health issues.
Another judge, Illustrator Croter said that mastery of digital tools and creating theme-relevant and engaging works were key to winning the competition and the Department of Health and Welfare at the University of Taipei Chair Chen Yeong-ren hoped future entries will continue to improve and emphasize health promotion aspects more.
The 2024 Climate Change Painting Competition was overseen by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It was sponsored by the Good Neighbor Foundation, Grape King Bio Ltd., Shin Kong Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Chung Tai Resource Technology Corp., CTCI Corporation, Taiwan Soka Association, Child Welfare League Foundation, The Merit-Times, Epson Taiwan Technology & Trading Ltd., ARTCO KIDS, Taiwan Environmental Information Association, and Dr. Morita Group MORIBIO COSMETIC COMPANY LIMITED TAIWAN BRANCH (HONG KONG).
The award ceremony will be held on July 20 and the top three and winning artworks of each division will be exhibited in the “SDGs Asia” exposition during August 8 and August 10 at Exhibition Building I of Taipei World Trade Center. After the “SDGs Asia,” the exhibition will move to MRT Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station in Taipei City and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's Kaohsiung Zuoying store in Kaohsiung City from September.
