Little Picassos Competition

Little Picassos Competition When? December 2 | Event? Drawing competition | Venue? Al A’ali Mall

This month kids can unleash their inner artist by participating in the Little Picassos drawing competition and depicting their impression of Bahrain.

Encourage the kids to take up a hobby that allows them to express their thoughts with colours by joining the contest at Al A’ali Shopping Complex this month. Did you know that Picasso himself was trained by his father at the young age of seven to draw? This year your child could discover his or her artistic brilliance with this successful annual competition.

‘I love Bahrain’ is the theme this time around, which was put together to promote important issues of acceptance and peace — in light of the recent events that took place here in the Kingdom.

“The event aims to educate children on the importance of a unified Bahrain along with helping them showcase what they love most about this beautiful multicultural country,” says Mahin Al Wazzan, business manager of International Advertising Agency (IAA).

IAA has been planning the competition for eight months now and are expecting around 1,000 participants. All those wishing to take part can pre-register for BD1 or sign in on the day of the event for BD1.5, in both cases there is a registration form to be filled out. There are three different age categories your child can enter into; below seven years-old, seven to 12 years-old, and finally 13-18 years-old.

A panel of well-respected artists such as Ella Prakash, Rashid Al Oraifi, Khalid Al Muharraqi, and Jaffar Al Oraibi will serve as the judges and pick the winner. “They will be looking for the drawing that conveys the theme in the best way possible and displays the utmost creativity among the participants. Criteria such as originality, creativity, theme interpretation and artistic quality are considered,” adds Mahin.

All of the artworks will be showcased to the public at the mall in an art exhibition running throughout the competition, and the winners from each category will be selected on the last day of the competition. The winners will each receive a prize — in previous years the competitions’ prizes have included TVs, DVD players, airline and theme park tickets — and this year Mahin emphasises that they have more exciting rewards in stores for the little ones.

Other entertainment will also take place during the week including face and henna painting, educational games, balloon twisters and clowns.

Mahin expresses that Little Picassos have been well received in the past, “Participants and parents love the event as it’s great value for money. Entrants get the whole competition kit which includes a T-shirt, colouring sets, meal vouchers, brochures and other goodies. What makes parents even more interested is that there is a specific theme each year that tackles issues that are significant to what is going on in Bahrain. We’ve dealt with themes about using seatbelts, conserving the environment, saving electricity and water, and staying healthy,” says Mahin.

Call 37 770-368 or visit www.facebook.com/littlepicassosbh.