Alternus Sustainable Arts Initiative launched and winners announced
Founded in 2022, the Initiative encourages emerging artists to consider and communicate sustainability through art and is committed to supporting emerging artists to establish a sustainable career.
For its first year, the Initiative partnered with the National College of Art and Design’s (NCAD) Bureau+, a research-driven design studio. Third year students were challenged to create a piece of art around the theme of UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: sustainable cities and communities, and to use defunct solar panels as a canvas.
The winners of the competition are Brendan Atkins (Tipperary), Claire Moran (Dublin), and Laura Kleis (Trier, Germany) with an ‘out of the box’ award going to Oonagh O'Brien (Wicklow) and a special mention for Erin Flood (Carlow). All winners received a prize fund of €3,000 (equivalent to a full NCAD scholarship) with the special mention category receiving a prize fund of €1,000. All artworks are displayed on the Initiative's website and physically displayed in Alternus Energy's office and select partner offices around the world.
Speaking about the successful launch of the Initiative, Paula O’ Brien, Director Alternus Sustainable Arts Initiative said:
“We are delighted to see the Initiative launch so successfully. The partnership with NCAD opened the competition to 22 students. The judging panel was highly impressed with the artwork and professional approach of participating students. We are proud to be able to support the next generation of artists and look forward to future engagement with NCAD.”
Derek Mc Garry, Head of Department of Innovation & Engagement, NCAD added:
“We were pleasantly surprised by Alternus' level of engagement – their passion was clear from the outset and their commitment was evident throughout. Their direct engagement with students was extremely beneficial for their personal development and exposure to the commercial side of a creative project. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and NCAD is very excited to see where this collaboration takes us next year.”
The partnership with NCAD will continue for the next two years. All artworks can be viewed on the website here: www.alternussustainablearts.com
