Derry boy regional finalist in Young Artist Award

Liam Dornan (8) from Derry, regional winner for Northern Ireland of the BIC KIDS Young Artist Award with his artwork and one of the billboards on which it is displayed. Photo: Professional Images/@ProfImages

After receiving nearly 1,000 entries from 5-11 years across the UK and Republic of Ireland for this year’s campaign, eight-year-old Liam Dornan fended off competition with his expertly crafted wildlife scene.

Liam’s entry will now be put forward for a public vote between the other regional finalists until September 9.

Illustrator Phil Corbett, who sat on the judging panel for this year’s campaign, said: “We’re thrilled to announce Liam as our regional finalist for Northern Ireland. There’s so much going on in his wildlife scene and we love the detail he’s used, down to a snake eating a watermelon slice at the top of the tree. Great work!

“We hope the billboards being created with Liam’s artwork inspire him to keep on drawing – he certainly has a natural talent for it which we hope he continues to explore. We would encourage the people of Northern Ireland to get behind Liam and cast their vote for this young creative.”

The BIC® KIDS Young Artist Award, which rewards creativity by taking children’s drawing from the fridge door on to massive public billboards returned in July this year.

Regional finalists were chosen via an expert judging panel and they will have their artworks used on 71 billboards across the UK and Republic of Ireland between 27th August and 9th September.

The public vote will take place at https://www.bickids.com/uk/youngartist/ to decide the overall champion, whose masterpiece will be used on a further 26 billboards from late September.