Parth Joshi, 12, of Vadodara in Gujarat has bagged the first prize in the International Children’s Online Painting contest organised by Kerala Tourism in memory of child artist Edmund Clint.
Parth was declared winner by the jury that went through close to 39,000 works it received from those in the 4-16 age group from 96 countries.
The first prize winner along with four other top winners from the country is eligible for a five-night Kerala travel accompanied by two members of the family.
Minister for Tourism Kadakampally Surendran announced a list of 110 winners.
10 foreigners
Fifteen of them are eligible for attractive tour packages. Ten of the 15 are from foreign countries.
Nafisa Tabassum Authay, 14, of Bangladesh won the second prize. She, along with nine other children from abroad who won the top prizes, will be eligible for a five-night Kerala tour with two members of the family. Aaradhya P.G., a six-year-old Malayali girl, won the third prize. She figures among 40 prize winners from the host State who will receive a cash award of ₹10,000 each.
The first three prize-winners will get certificates and mementoes. Twenty other winners will receive mementoes. The artists whose work were shortlisted will get special prizes, while all the participants will receive certificates.
Prodigy
Clint (1976-83) from Kochi drew more than 25,000 pictures in 2,522 days of his life before a prolonged illness cut short his life. Clint’s life has found portrayal in seven books and two documentaries besides in a 2017 Malayalam feature film.
The 2018 edition of the painting contest received larger and more widespread response than the first, the Minister said, adding that the number of entries this time was 38,995, against the 5,000 in 2017. Of these, 6,542 paintings were from abroad. Among the rest from India, 5,713 paintings were from Kerala.
The jury comprised Bihar Museum Director Mohammed Yusuf, artists Vrindavan Solanki (Gujarat), Vipta Kapadia (Mumbai) and Suresh K. Nair (Varanasi), besides Kerala Lalithakala Akademi chairman Nemom Pushparaj and art critic M.L. Johnny.
