Sunflower Creations - looking on the bright side

Well, after stating last time that with a week to go we’d had a disappointingly low number of entries in the Sunflower Creations competition, things took a turn for the better at the last minute, and we ended up with 13 entries. Okay, so that’s still not a great number for a social media competition, but it was enough to save our blushes and make it a real contest.

I think the biggest positive was actually the quality of the entries we did have. Those who took part had done so with enthusiasm, and their submissions showed a lot of creativity, dynamism and experimentation. The top two entries in the Open Age category were worthy of an open exhibition shortlist, and the 12 and Unders were as bright and characterful as we’d hoped they would be.

We had intended to narrow the submissions down to our favourite 10 or so, and then ask our judge, Rhi Moxon to choose from that narrowed list, but in the end we showed her all 13 entries. Having Rhi as our judge has been a huge plus. Not only did she offer us a wealth of experience as a professional illustrator, artist and competition judge, but she also offered us the impartiality that we needed (as many of the entrants were known to us), the encouragement to run the competition again next year, and some great suggestions to hopefully make it more successful. So the good news for anyone who entered this year or wished they had, is that we’ve decied to go again next year! 

This year the competition was run almost exclusively on social media, but with the engagement issues that I talked about last time being fresh in our minds, we plan to produce some flyers for the 2027 edition, and send them out to kids art and craft groups, brownies and cubs groups, summer clubs, adult craft groups, gallery spaces and anywhere else we can think of! If you’d like your group to be included, then please send the details to hello@boxesofsunshine.co.uk and we’ll make sure you get a bunch of flyers nearer the time.

We might also explore the idea of a local exhibition, but time will tell whether we’re able to make that happen or not.

Of course, the addition of the printed flyers (and possibly exhibition materials) will add to the overall cost of hosting the competition, so we’ll be looking for increased sponsorship. You’ll be able to either sponsor one of the age categories (for a modest donation amount) or the whole competition (for a little more). If you’d like to find out more about sponsoring Sunflower Creations 2027, or indeed any other Boxes of Sunshine sponsorship opportunities, then please get in touch: hello@boxesofsunshine.co.uk

Lastly, we’d like to say a huge thank you to Jet Creative, who sponsored this year’s competition, as without your generosity Sunflower Creations simply wouldn’t have happened.