Fourteen year old Minnie Roe has been named as the 2014 winner of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s annual schools poster competition, supported by Virgin Money .
A pupil from Dollar Academy in Forth Valley, Minnie’s poster was praised by judges for encapsulating the spirit and character of the Fringe.
The competition, supported by Virgin Money and now in its 34th year, attracted 3,453 entries from 144 schools across Scotland. The winners were announced at a special unveiling at The Museum of Childhood.
Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society Kath M Mainland said:
“Minnie’s poster is a great example of the amazing young artistic talent we have here in Scotland. Her creativity was admired by all of the judges and the uniqueness of her design makes her the deserving winner of this year’s competition.
The real prize in my opinion is the fact that Minnie’s poster will be displayed in Edinburgh during the Festival Fringe this August for everyone to see and enjoy, I can imagine that this is something that will make both Minnie’s family and school incredibly proud - and rightly so!
“The poster competition is embraced by so many schools across Scotland and is a much loved tradition in the Fringe calendar. Once again we’ve been overwhelmed with entries and we’d like to thank all of the schools who took part.”
Andrew Nicholson, Head of Sponsorship Marketing for Virgin Money said:
“Virgin Money is delighted to once again support The Fringe Schools Poster Competition. We have been spoilt for choice with the entries this year. However Minnie’s eye-catching and colourful design won everyone over and I can’t wait to see how it looks on this year’s Fringe merchandise.”
Every year, the winning design becomes the official poster for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is used on mugs, bags and t-shirts and other merchandise available to buy in the Fringe shop on the Royal Mile or via the Fringe website.
Runners up were fourteen year old Hannah Buchanan from Perth Grammar School and thirteen year old Kenzie Harvey from Perth Academy.
The Fringe Schools Poster was launched in 1980 and is one of the longest-running arts outreach projects in Scotland. The competition, which has received over 100,000 entries in the past 34 years, is open to all five to sixteen year olds in schools across Scotland. Entrants are asked to create a poster design reflecting their interpretation of the Fringe. Schools are then supported with resources and lesson plans linked to Curriculum for Excellence to get the most out of the competition.
Minnie’s poster will be displayed at the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh from 23 May until 25 August as part of an exhibition alongside the posters from Hannah, Kenzie, 14 regional winners and 77 shortlisted entries. Minnie will receive a £300 cash prize and her school art department will be awarded £750. Hannah and Kenzie will receive £150 each and their respective schools art departments a gift of £400. Competition sponsors Virgin Money will also be providing tickets to the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert 2014.
For more information and images contact Edinburgh Festival Fringe Media Office on 0131 240 1919 or email [email protected].