Spirited Arts 2024

Once again Deal Parochial will be entering into the Spirited Arts competition run by NATRE – (National Association of Teachers of  Religious Education). We will join hundreds of schools from around the world taking part!  Entries in any artform your pupils can think of are welcomed, including:

  • Art (painting, drawing, sketching etc)
  • Poetry
  • Photography
  • Dance
  • Music
  • Drama
  • Sculpture

Winning entries will provide a good response to one of the 5 themes, and judges will be asking is it original? Is it well-crafted? And (most importantly!) is it excellent RE?

The themes this year are:

God’s good earth?

Are we spoiling God’s good earth? Should we be thankful for it? Can we save it in time from the threats of climate change? The beauty of the earth is celebrated in many religions, but the human spoiling of the earth is a danger and a coming crisis.

In this theme, learners are invited to explore ideas and beliefs about the natural world, human responsibility for the earth and ways of praying about climate justice. Great work will show some originality: the globe in God’s hands won’t win!

Inspiring!

What inspired you? A song? A quote? Another person’s life? A place?

Religion offers people inspiration to live. Sometimes an inspirational life, a person’s example, a text or a piece of music crystallizes our inspiration. In this theme, you are invited to identify what inspired you from a religion – it doesn’t have to be your own faith, as inspiration tends to spill over the edges of religions.

Explain through your art and text what connects your inspiration to spiritual or religious life.

Holy Words!

What words are holy for you? Select a saying or story you really love about peace, faith, unity, prayer or some other religious theme. Incorporate your holy words into your design or art and express the value and meaning of the words you have chosen in the images and art that you make.

This theme has a close connection to the study of holy books and teaching from 2 or more different scriptures can be used, so get reading from the Torah and the Gospel, the Qur’an and the Gita, the Dhammapada or the Guru Granth Sahib. And add some words from a non-religious source of wisdom too if you like.

Where is God?

Atheists, agnostics and believers in God might all respond to this by expressing their sense of the search for God or finding God. Where’s God? In your heart, in prayer, in the temple or the universe? Or is she hiding? Is he not there at all? Looking for God, searching for him or her, matters: but how are we doing in finding God? Would you search with google or a ‘God detector’? Is God on Instagram or WhatsApp? Can God be found by prayer or by looking among the world’s suffering people?

This popular Spirited Arts & Poetry theme produces great work where pupils use ideas from religions clearly: The Jewish Psalms 42 and 43 are where it starts.

Picturing Faith (BRAND NEW Photography section)

This is an innovation for our Spirited Arts competition. Pupils are invited to select up to 4 photographs from a visit to a place of worship (or another trip connected to RE) – preferably those taken by themselves, and give a brief commentary on the pictures to say what was great and what they learned from their visits. Comments about the emotions and the purpose of the place, not just ‘labels and captions’ are best. Pupils may like to provide their commentary in the form of a poem.

We suggest they are sent in a PPT presentation (or similar). If you have another way of responding to the theme ‘Picturing Faith’ then that is fine, please do send it in!

Click here to download the list of themes and full competition details.

Pupils can enter individually, in pairs or family groups, or as whole class, year or school entries. We have also been pleased to receive entries from whole community groups on previous years.

All entries must be received back at school by Friday, 17th July