The START21ART Competition of the KUBIKUM Foundation Launched in 2021

The KUBIKUM FOUNDATION, with the support of CENTRAL ART REGISTER, s.r.o., announced the first edition of a nationwide art competition on 21 September 2021, intended for selected fourth-year students of secondary schools of applied arts.

The idea behind organising the art competition was based on the conviction that supporting talent, the unique process of artistic creation and, last but not least, art education can have benefits not only on a personal level but also for society as a whole.

The aim of the competition was to support and promote the work of young artists at the beginning of their professional careers, prepare them for artistic practice and their future profession, help them gain experience and authorship skills, and provide them with an opportunity to present their work to the general public through an online platform.

11 secondary schools of applied arts took part in the competition. Each school had the opportunity to nominate one tenth of its fourth-year students to represent the school in the competition. A total of 43 students fulfilled the competition requirements. They created their competition works on the theme “BEGINNING”, using a variety of techniques. The works included photography, computer graphics, acrylic painting, oil painting, drawing and visualisation. The mentors also played an important role in the competition. Their task was not only to guide the students appropriately during the creative process, but also to oversee the fulfilment of their responsibilities as competition participants.

The works were evaluated until the end of March 2022, and on the symbolic date of 15 April 2022, World Art Day, the complete results of the START21ART competition were published. All competition works were subsequently included in a public online auction held on the KUBIKUM portal (a registry of artists and works of art). A total of 31 works were sold at auction, with a combined value of EUR 438. The authors of the auctioned works received 21% of the proceeds, while the remaining amount was used by the KUBIKUM Foundation to support art and art education.

The competition works were evaluated by a jury consisting of prominent figures in Slovak art education nominated by the organiser, as well as representatives and teachers of the participating schools. Our thanks go to doc. Mgr. art. Juraj Blaško ArtD., doc. Róbert Bruno, academic painter, doc. Mgr. art. Radovan Červeka ArtD., doc. Mgr. art. Pavol Mach, Mgr. art. Róbert Makar ArtD., doc. Patrik Ševčík ArtD. and PaeDr. Mgr. art. Boris Vaitovič ArtD., as well as to the other nominated jury members, who selected Laura Šebestová, a student of SŠUP in Nitra, as the absolute winner of the competition for her work entitled “Creation”.

The first TOP21 students, the mentors who guided the students placed 1st to 21st, and the school whose student placed first were awarded prizes. In total, the KUBIKUM Foundation dedicated prizes worth more than EUR 10,000 to the development of art and art education.