Global Canvas 2023 – Virtual Awards Ceremony
Wednesday 26th April 2023
About Global Canvas
Global Canvas is an annual, international art contest hosted by David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF). Each year, we are thrilled to see the creativity shown by our international entrants and the incredible wildlife art produced by such incredible young artists.
2023 has been an amazing year for Global Canvas entries, with 4,338 children participating from around the world, representing:
- 820 individual entries
- 107 group entries
- 57 countries
DSWF wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to every single person who has entered and embraced this year’s theme – “Biodiversity: The complex web of life”.
The creativity and environmental messaging shown throughout the artworks this year has been truly heartwarming. We have absolutely loved discussing, debating, and looking at every single entry.
Judging is now well underway, and you won’t have to wait too long before the winners from every category are announced and showcased. Make sure you tune in at 12pm, BST, on the 26th of April to find out who has won this year’s group and individual prizes of up to £500 in art vouchers!
To do so, you’ll need to sign up for the event. Please confirm your attendance by clicking on the button below.
Virtual Awards Ceremony
Whether you entered the competition or just want to see this year’s incredible entries (or find out who won!), then you can join us on the day – as the virtual awards ceremony is open to all.
Just to confirm, our online award ceremony will take place on Wednesday 26th April at 12pm BST. We can promise you that the event will showcase the full depth and breadth of talent of the budding young artists that entered this year’ competition. We’re excited to share with you, not just our favourite pieces, but also the stunning flair and creativity shown by this year’s entrants. Join us on the day to celebrate this year’s winners.
Global Canvas is our free-to-enter art competition for children. Art groups as small as two children or as large as a whole school can enter, as well as individuals. All entries are separated into the following age groups; 4-7 years, 8-11 years, and 12-16 years.
Here’s a reminder of the prizes that we’ll be awarding on the day.
Group Prizes
Individual Prizes
- First prize: £100 worth of art vouchers
- Second prize: £50 of art vouchers
- Third prize: £25 of art vouchers
We hope as many of you as possible can join us – especially if you’re one of our incredible entrants. Our fingers are crossed for you, and we hope you’ll tune in to see if you’ve won!
Your Hosts
Georgina Lamb
Georgina is the Chief Executive of DSWF. As the granddaughter of DSWF’s founder, the late and greatly renowned wildlife artist and conservationist David Shepherd, a love of wildlife art and a passion for protecting the world’s most threatened species was instilled in her at an early age. Georgina strongly advocates the powerful voice of wildlife art and celebrates Global Canvas as a platform for the next generation of wildlife warriors to take their message to an ever-growing global audience.
Alicia Hayden
Alicia is a passionate ‘artivist’ who embraces many different creative voices to raise important conservation messages. She is a wildlife artist, filmmaker, animator, writer, and illustrator. Not only does she hold a degree in Biological Sciences and a Masters in Wildlife Filmmaking, she is ardently involved with numerous youth-based nature initiatives, including a children’s book series. She strongly believes art is a powerful, passive conservation tool that can connect global audiences to the issues the natural world faces.
Special Guests
Emma Moffett
Emma is an ecologist specialising in freshwater environments. As part of her postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College, London, Emma is examining the relationship between biodiversity and the goods and services (clean water, air, and food) we get from the environment. She is excited to be part of this year’s Global Canvas competition and to see first hand how children from around the world interpret biodiversity and what it means to them.
Professor John Spicer
John is a professor in Marine Zoology at Plymouth University’s Marine Institute, with expertise in ecophysiology. His book, ‘The Beginners Guide to Biodiversity’, promises he’ll bring knowledgeable insight into the past, present, and future of biodiversity to Global Canvas. And with his research interests focusing on how marine organisms work and evolve in the wild, and how they adapt to climate change, he’ll be keen to see this represented in this year’s entries.