THE National Art Gallery has received a renewed commitment of monetary sponsorship for the National Bi-annual Drawing Competition from Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd, through its initiative called “The Power to Make a Difference.” A $1M cheque, the first round of support for the project, was presented yesterday to the Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry, in the presence of the Gallery’s curator, Ohene Koama and senior managers of Republic Bank.
The project is aimed at continuing to foster the development and skill of drawing with clear intentions of honing excellence and wider participation, while substantially rewarding the victors of a structured and transparent competition, a press release said.

A vibrant, enthusiastic and financially sound corporate entity, Republic Bank (Guyana) Ltd, adopted a position to monetarily sponsor a National Bi-annual Drawing Competition and exhibition for Guyanese artists who have a knack for fine drawing.

This sponsorship covers three aspects of the activity – the advertising campaign, the medals and the honorarium. Once the first bi-annual 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 bi-annually-announced competitions.

This year’s “Power to make a Difference” award from Republic Bank is $2 million to cover a period of four years as sponsorship for the National Bi-annual Drawing Competition.

The release said further that $1 million will be utilised to realise this year’s competition. The structure of the awards will be Gold, Silver, Bronze and a trophy. Recipients will be First, Second, and Third places and there will also be 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 Bi-annual National Drawing Competition in 2017 will see the inclusion of a new component. The proposed sum for that competition will be utilised for a new dimension of 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 being 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, Monday to Friday, and 2pm – 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.