As you may know I usually showcase children`s and young people`s artwork ages 4yrs – 18yrs.

However, I recently had the opportunity to visit the opening of a wonderful exhibition at Bradford Industrial Museum celebrating the art talents of young people 16yrs -25yrs.

I was honoured to be invited by an ex-student of mine who had her work chosen as part of this exhibition organised by the Young Ambassadors `Generation z' cohort and Bradford District Museums and Galleries. The diverse range of artwork reinforced my belief that we have many talented young artists emerging and adding to the cultural backbone of our city and beyond.

It was heartwarming to hear the speakers encouraging and praising the artists that had been chosen, which is why I decided to write this one-off article featuring the older age group, in the hope that my 4-18 age group will see what is possible and the opportunities open to them if they have a passion for art.

The exhibition featured a wide eclectic spectrum of skills, techniques, materials and mediums, including 2D and 3D pieces such as printmaking, textiles, digital art, oils, acrylics and watercolour paintings, collage, sculptures, clay, photography, etc. Art is not just a painting on a wall, and this certainly proved this point.

In my opinion there is a lesson to be learnt in schools, particularly in primary schools. I know from experience how easy and convenient it is to stick strictly to national curriculum guidelines and strategies. Not personally, you understand, as I was always on the cusp of being rebellious and thinking 'outside the box'. (Sorry, I hate that expression.) It saves time in the busy workload of teachers, but a little bit of extra research or asking my friend Mr Google could produce a more challenging art session and, as a result, produce exciting work from the children.

Children are often chosen and cherry-picked for what we assume is 'perfect art'. I have had many a conversation regarding what good art is and always come back to the same answer. Art is always down to personal choice. How can judges make decisions when one person sees a painting in a different way than another? A person who prefers traditional art would choose a similar-style landscape, for instance, whereas someone who enjoys a more freestyle approach would no doubt err towards an abstract piece of art. Technical ability and subject matter play a large part in competitive situations but all I want to do is stand in front of a painting and say, `do I like this or not.` I can go into detail of the reasons why if needs be, yet it`s not always necessary.

Louise Lockyer age 22yrs used acrylic paint on canvas for this fun piece' Dressed Down`

Rozinah Nadeem age 16yrs used acrylics, oil pastels and alcoholic markers for this artwork 'The Mangoes in the Air and Saltaire`

I hope children and young people will see the attached images from the exhibition and will continue to be inspired and encouraged to nurture their love and passion for art.

Please continue to submit all the wonderful artwork to my email purplegrandma48@gmail.com OR via Curatorspace (Children`s and Young People`s Art Opportunity) with a title, name , age and brief description. The latest call out for months of the year (except December) is for the opportunity to feature in a 2026 calendar.

Thank you and keep creating!