VICTORIA, Seychelles — Young Seychellois artists were rewarded for their participation in the Zenn Artis Kreolofonn competition held on Friday morning at Carrefour des Arts in Victoria. The annual competition is staged during October to celebrate the Festival Kreol.
Organised by the Festival Kreol Committee in partnership with the National Council for the Arts and Crafts, the competition invited young artists aged between 4 and 21 to demonstrate their talent in visual arts and crafts, under the theme ‘Gardyen nou leritaz‘ (Guardians of our heritage). Four categories were contested, and the top three in each received prizes.
In the 4–8 age group, the first prize went to Tyron Bistoquet of Independent school, with second prize to Eli Joubert of Bel Eau and third to Tasha Dine of La Misère. In the 9–13 age group, Marius Pillay of Takamaka took first place, followed by Amy Ombline of Independent and Elleja Renaud of Mont Fleuri. Valerie Lesperance of the Institute of Arts won the 14–17 category, with Nahbi Woodcock of Belonie second and Dylia Vidot of Plaisance third. Ezra Dodin of the Institute of Arts won the 18–21 category, with Shanelha Onezime second and Abigail Dick third.
Event coordinator Norifa Accouche said that this year the competition received 150 works from 19 different state and private schools. The executive director of the National Council for the Arts and Crafts, Jimmy Savy, noted that the competition has been one of the most consistent events of the Festival Kreol over the past 40 years, with the quality of work from children steadily improving. Following the ceremony, visitors were invited to discover the children’s works at the Zenn Artis Kreolofonn exhibition.
