The Scottish Fisheries Museum invited all children in Fife aged 3 - 14 to take part in its annual Art Competition!

The theme of this year’s competition was Plastic Tide, which is inspired by our current temporary exhibition Plastic Tide. This years competition is sponsored by The Oak Tree Shop and Pittenweem Arts Festival.

Plastics are all around us – from food packaging to household items to everyday technology. They can be bright and colourful and for many years they have been used as a ‘wonder material’. Plastic is a strong, mouldable, and cheap material which is why, in the space of 100 years, it has come to dominate much of our material world. This positive attitude towards plastic is starting to change as plastic waste is now a serious threat to the life of our seas and oceans.

In this year’s Art Competition, pupils are invited to explore the abundance of plastics on our beaches and in our lives, and look at objects in the museum collection to see how it was a wonder material for many years, its current impact on our beaches and what small steps we can take to tackle the problem.

We were impressed with the entries from school pupils from local schools in Fife, and were inspired by everyone’s creativity and interpretations of the theme. After a long and difficult deliberation by the judging panel, which included local artist Sandy Wilkie and Kate Laundon, we finally decided on this year’s winners, which you can find below!

Entries were judged based on their artistry and how well their artwork complimented the competition’s theme. An overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize were awarded, as well as a Highly Commended prize for each age group.

1st Prize: Charlie (Waid Academy)

2nd Prize: Abbie (Crail Primary School)

3rd Prize: Emma (Crail Primary School)

Highly Commended: Pupils of Crail Nursery - Category A, Sorley (Crail Primary School) - Category B

Highly Commended: Flora and Flynn (Crail Primary School) - Category C, Harris (Waid Academy) - Category E

The winners will be awarded their prizes at the annual Fisherlass and Lad ceremony, which will take place on the 3rd of June as part of this year’s Anstruther Harbour Festival. The winners’ artworks along with other selected entries are on display in the Merchant’s Room of the WAVES Café throughout the month of June.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition!

If you have any questions about the upcoming ceremony or exhibition, please contact the museum’s Learning and Engagement Officer on 01333 310628 or by email at julia@scotfishmuseum.org.