Republic Bank presents $1M to National Art Gallery for the 11th Biennial National Drawing Competition in 2017

Minister Henry receiving the cheque from Republic Bank's Manager, Celine Davis.

Georgetown :  The National Gallery of Art has been the recipient of a renewed commitment of monetary sponsorship, for the National Biannual Drawing Competition, from the Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd through its initiative called 'The Power to Make a Difference'.

A cheque valuing $1M, the first round of support for the project, was presented today to the Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry in the presence of the Gallery's Curator, OheneKoama and Senior Managers of Republic Bank.

The objective of this project is to continue fostering the development and skill of drawing with clear intentions to hone excellence and wider country participation while substantially rewarding the victors of a structured and transparent competition.

 

A vibrant, enthusiastic and financially sound corporate entity, Republic Bank (Guy) Limited, adopted a position to monetarily sponsor a National Biennial Drawing Competition and exhibition for Guyanese Artists who have a nag for fine Drawing. This sponsorship covers three aspects of the activity – the Ad campaign, the medals and the Honorarium. Once the first Biennial Drawing competition in 1994 was canvassed successfully, Artists and others nationwide, who have an aptitude for drawing, continued to eagerly participate and look forward to the biennially announced competitions.

 

This year’s ‘Power to make a Difference’ initiative award from Republic Bank (Guy) Limited is two million dollars to cover a period of four years as sponsorship for the National Biennial Drawing Competition. One million dollars will be utilized to realize this year’s competition.  The structure of the awards will be Gold, Silver, Bronze and a Trophy.  Recipients will be First, Second, Third place and a Special Young Person prize between the ages of 16 – 18yrs. Each recipient of Awards will also receive Honorariums.

 

A bold projection for the Eleventh Biennial National Drawing Competition in 2017 will see the inclusion of a new component. The proposed sum for that competition will be utilized to realize a new dimension to the competition.  The structure of the competition with awards will be retained but the first place winner will not only be awarded a gold medal and an honorarium but also the opportunity of Artist in Residency at Castellani House for a period of three to six months with a monthly stipend (conditions will apply).  A space to work from 9am – 5pm Mon to Friday and 2 – 6pm on Saturdays will be provided along with easels and drawing materials. Students and visitors will benefit from the opportunity to witness live drawing and interact with the winner while s/he demonstrates her/his drawing skills and methods of approach. An exhibition of the drawings produced during the residency will be mounted and promoted by Castellani House.