Award ceremony for the painting competition “Nature inspires” 2021
©Isabelle Gebhardt
On Sunday, August 22, 2021, young up-and-coming artists were awarded for their creative paintings on the theme “All the birds are already here” – the colorful world of birds. The painting competition, through which elementary school children can artistically discover nature, was held this year for the twelfth time in a row. Due to Corona, only the prize winners could be invited to the award ceremony with their parents and teachers, so the event was broadcast live so that all participants could watch.
Despite ongoing school closures and homeschooling, more than 2,100 works of art were received this year from 145 classes from 68 schools in Bonn and the region, including the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. “All the birds are already here” – the colorful world of birds was the theme of this year’s painting competition, jointly organized by the Alexander-Koenig-Gesellschaft e.V. (AKG) and the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation.
Helmut Stahl, President of the AKG, expressed his heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated again this year, i.e. the young artists, their parents, the dedicated teachers and the jury. “Together, we have once again defied the pandemic obstacles – and everyone enjoyed it”.
“Even during his lifetime, it was important to our benefactor that children engage with our natural world. It would be a great pleasure for him to see how the little artists take up and implement the chosen themes of the painting competition. They see, they hear, and they discover the unique, diverse world of birds and bring it to a sheet of paper in a variety of ways with a brush,” added Marco Alfter, Managing Director of the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation.
Ingrid Hirsch-Leggewie, project manager of the painting competition on the part of the AKG, praised all the children at the award ceremony for the extraordinary ideas and the imagination with which the works of art were created.
The winners all received the same prizes: a certificate, a creative workshop at Museum Koenig lasting several hours, and a book matching the theme. The respective school class receives a voucher, which can be used to equip their natural history and/or art lessons with new materials.
The jury members, consisting of representatives of the school authorities, the Museum Koenig, the University of Bonn and other educational institutions as well as the AKG and the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation, selected 60 pictures for the exhibition, which will be on display in the Museum Koenig café until October 3. From these 60 images, 13 were selected for the award and the 2022 annual calendar.
Starting in the fall, the 2022 annual calendar with the 13 award-winning images will again be available at the Museum Koenig box office. The book: “Children see our world – 10 years of painting competition” can be purchased at any time.
The award-winning pictures were taken by:
Sophia Riediger, 8 years
Tabea Kumuini, 9 years
Justus Königs, 7 years
Lotta Landeck, 8 years
Carlotta Hofmann, 9 years
Mina Reiners, 8 years
Altion Bytyqi, 8 years
Martin Mähler, 8 years
Jonathan Beste, 10 years
Anna Mina Michel, 9 years
Frederic Köble, 10 years
Carina Walek Koch, 8 years
Special prize of the Alexander Koenig Society: Alessandro Bazzal
Special prize of the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation: Enya Zhao
Special prize of the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum: Claire Weydt
Furthermore present at the award ceremony were:
– Mr. Helmut Stahl (President of the Alexander Koenig Gesellschaft e.V.),
– Mr. Marco Alfter (Managing Director of the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation),
In addition, Ingrid Hirsch-Leggewie and Julia Herder, supervisors of the painting competition on the part of the AKG, and Leonie Grafweg from the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation were present.
