Art Competition Winners

A North-east school pupil who dreams of becoming an animator has been named as the overall winner of a local art competition run by recruitment experts TMM Recruitment, after creating a self-portrait inspired by her future career.

Casey Thompson from Banff beat stiff competition to be named the overall winner in this year’s My Future Aspiration contest.

The art competition, which has been running since 2009, tasks first and second-year senior school pupils from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to show their future life and career dreams through art.

This year’s My Future Aspirations competition attracted entries from 12 schools including Aberdeen Grammar School, Banff Academy, Dyce Academy, Ellon Academy, Harlaw Academy, Hazlehead Academy, Kemnay Academy, Lathallan School, Portlethen Academy, Robert Gordon’s College, The Gordons School and Westhill Academy.

Thirteen-year-old Casey wants to strive to be the best version of herself and dreams of ‘following her passions’ to become an animator.

Of the competition, Casey said “I certainly didn’t expect to win. One of the best things was the opportunity to talk with someone who is working in my dream profession. TMM Recruitment arranged a chat with Aberdeen animator Zoe Buyers which was great and insightful.”

Oluwanifemi Adetunji from Westhill was the runner-up in the competition. She aspires to join the armed forces. Oluwanifemi believes she has the potential to save lives and fight for justice and peace.

Ava Wilson of Kemnay was named the People’s Choice winner, following a public vote. Ava dreams of working in the creative arts and believes that putting in effort and pushing herself will enable her to achieve the goals she has had for herself since she was little.

The entries for the art competition were judged by TMM Recruitment’s Karen Molloy, Craig Stevenson, former manager of the Bon Accord Centre, and local artist, Michael Samson

Karen Molloy, founding director of TMM Recruitment, said: “This year’s entries were extremely creative, with several pupils adopting advanced artistic techniques. We were once again amazed, both by the variety of submissions and by the range of media that the young people used to create their entries.

“This included a fish tank and light installation from one young person who dreams of becoming a Marine Biologist.

“We also ask those entering the competition to provide a narrative to accompany their submission. This helps us to understand how they hope to achieve their aspirations and adds another dimension because we get a little insight into their personality and motivations.

Karen added: “It’s fascinating to read the young people’s thoughts on what they want to achieve and what has influenced that. Each year I am impressed to see how they translate their future ambitions into a piece of art and how their creativity shines through.”

Photo courtesy of Newsline.

View all the entries to our 2023 My Future Aspirations competition in our online gallery.