Winners of the 2023 Fourth Plinth Schools Awards Announced
Andria Zafirakou, winner of the 2018 Global Teacher Prize, and Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, today announced the winners of the Fourth Plinth Schools Awards 2023 – an annual competition which invites all of London’s schoolchildren to create artworks inspired by the contemporary art commissions for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
The competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in the capital for students aged between 5 – 15. Those entering can use any medium, including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and digital to create an artwork inspired by past and present Fourth Plinth commissions.
Since the launch of the programme in 1998, the Fourth Plinth Schools Award has inspired over 30,000 entries from schoolchildren across every London borough to create art and think about what it can say about our city.
The winning artworks will be displayed in an exhibition at City Hall, until 2 June 2023. The awards are provided by Cass Art, the UK’s leading art supplies retailer.
The winners are:
Ages 5 – 7 winner: London Queen by Nyla
Reay Primary School, London Borough of Lambeth
Ages 8 – 11 winner: Stop It! by Gennaro
St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, London Borough of Ealing
Ages 12 – 15 winner: Road Pigeon by Elizabeth
Wallington High School for Girls, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The full list of winners can be found on our website www.london.gov.uk/Imagination and on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.
This year’s competition saw entries from more than 2,000 students across the city, showcasing the creativity of schoolchildren in the capital. Previous judges have included Fourth Plinth artists Mark Wallinger, Michael Rakowitz, Yinka Shonibare CBE, David Shrigley and Heather Phillipson.
Andria Zafirakou, Judge of the 2023 Fourth Plinth Schools Award, said: “What a treat! How wonderful it has been to be involved as a judge in this year's Fourth Plinth School Awards and to see the incredible artwork and talent that is pouring out of our classrooms. As always, the quality of ideas, imagination and standards of creativity have been inspirational. Congratulations to all the young people who took part and to my teacher colleagues for helping to make it happen.”
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “Young Londoners have again been flexing their creative muscles and showing what incredible talent we have in this city, as part of the Fourth Plinth schools awards. Art in schools is so vital – it grows imagination and empathy and builds the essential skills we need for life and for work. I’m really proud that so far we have had 30,000 entries from school children for the awards and I hope one day to see one of these budding artists showing their work on the Fourth Plinth as we continue to build a better and fairer London for everyone.”
Launched in 1998, the Fourth Plinth programme is one of the most popular public art projects in the world, renowned for brining world-class contemporary art to London’s most prominent historical public square. The programme invites world-class contemporary artists to make new works for the centre of the capital. The current Fourth Plinth commission, Antelope by Samson Kambalu, will be on the Fourth Plinth until September 2024.
The Fourth Plinth is funded by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Notes to editors
The Fourth Plinth Programme is the most popular public art project in the UK. Funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England, the programme invites world-class artists to make new works for the centre of the capital city. An established icon for London, it brings out the art critic in everyone.
The programme was initiated in 1998 by the Royal Society of the Arts with the support of the Cass Sculpture Foundation for the following commissions: Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger (1999), Regardless of History by Bill Woodrow (2000) and Monument by Rachel Whiteread (2001). In 1999 responsibility for Trafalgar Square was transferred to the Mayor of London and the Fourth Plinth Programme is now led by the Mayor’s Culture and Creative Industries Team, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group.
Fourth Plinth Schools Awards is an annual competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in the capital for students aged between 5-15. Students are encouraged to produce their own work of art, inspired by the contemporary art commissions for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Those entering can use any medium, including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, digital and video. Group and individual entries are welcome and there is no limit to the number that each school can put in. The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards has inspired over 25,000 children across every London borough to create art and think about what it can say about our city.
The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards are supported by Cass Art, the UK’s leading art supplies retailer.
Further information about the Schools Awards: www.london.gov.uk/imagination
Cass Art
Cass Art, the UK’s leading art supplies retailer, has 14 stores across the UK and an online shop, offering the world’s best brands at affordable prices. Committed to supporting creatives at all stages of their careers, Cass Art works in partnership with numerous organisations and institutions to provide sponsorship, bursaries and awards. Read about how the Cass family enabled the first 3 commissions on the Fourth Plinth, and how they have supported artists for over 100 years at www.cassart.co.uk/about-us
Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organisations around the world. The app platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organization, the app provides a range of features including video, audio, and text; expert commentary; and way-finding maps. Download the app by scanning the QR code below, and follow Bloomberg Connects on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on new guide launches, exhibit highlights, and more.