Children’s art work go on display at Bliss
The Bliss Institute in Belize City, has fallen victim to an invasion, but instead of high-powered guns and complex maneuvers, it was the simplicity of a child that did the trick. For the remainder of the month, primary and secondary school children from the Belize District will have the stage all to themselves to display their most creative talents.
Each year around this time hundreds of primary school students enter the Children’s Festival of Arts, but only a select few actually get to perform on stage. But there are other ways to shine at the Festival and that is through the arts and craft section.
Beverly Smith Lopez, Director, Belize Arts Council
“We don’t have as many schools as we have had in past years but we have good quality. We have over a dozen primary schools then we have two high schools. For the first time we have had two high schools enter into the arts and craft. We have Saint John’s College with one hundred and sixty seven entries and we have E.P. Yorke with like seventy entries.”
The entries include metal and woodwork as well as intricate pen and ink portraits. These creations, says Lopez, is of very high quality especially after having had a series of workshops earlier this year to prepare teachers about what would be expected of their students.
Beverly Smith Lopez
“We have been stressing on improving the quality and we are extremely pleased. The school children, we are proud to see that the teachers have weeded out some of them and sent only the best.”
A host of judges will be evaluating the entries over the next few days and it surely will not be an easy task.
Beverly Smith Lopez
“They will be judging on creativity – on how much work is really that of the child, how much the child really put into expressing how he or she feels in to that art work, what kind of materials is used. If you notice we’ll have a section on section recycling using things children can find around them and that will play a big role in this year’s Festival also.”
The exhibition is open to the public and on the sixteenth, the performance section of the Festival will begin. Julietta Burrowes for News Five.
The Children’s Festival of Arts is being held under the theme: “The object is not to gain a prize, or defeat a rival, but to pace one another on the road to excellence.”
