Schools’ Competition 2023 - 2024
Vote for the winning entry in our Schools’ Competition!
What is history? Whose memories? Who should be celebrated? The Gallery of Living History says it’s about ALL OF US and our contributions. So we want YOU to help us decide who should be praised.
In partnership with Coventry University we aim to unearth who created our towns, cities, systems and structures and whose energy, endurance, strength or kindness helped to make out communities better and helped to make the country what it is.
The Gallery of Living history wants to hear from you. We ran a competition to find out who some of our local school students thought we should celebrate.
There are 3 shortlisted entries, please VOTE for your favourite by completing the form below.
The young people have been working very hard to produce their ideas for soundscapes with visuals which capture a local unsung hero. This is what they were asked to think about:
1. Why this specific unsung hero?
2. Is their idea and the information clear?
3. Is it an imaginative idea?
After the public vote entries will go through to a wonderful panel of judges, including an Oscar nominated film maker, a head of industry and a Reverend ! More details can be found here in our judges section below.
The winning entry will be announced on the website and then displayed on the plinth in Starley Gardens, Coventry, which was sponsored by our founder actor, film-maker and director, Andy Serkis! For more information on the Schools’ Competition see below.
Thank you for voting!
Delia Derbyshire - Blue Coat School
Mrs Shirley King - The Chosen Ones - Polesworh School
Mrs Shirley King - The Shirleys - Polesworth School
Vote now!
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Vote now! 〰️
Voting closes on 5 May 2024
SCHOOLS’ COMPETITION 2023-2024
Entries for schools have now closed, but watch this space for details of the winning team entry!
With the success of our inaugural schools’ competition in 2021-2022, the Gallery of Living History has launched another competition for secondary schools across the Midlands, this time looking to memorialise and celebrate an unsung hero or heroine of the community. Schools were asked to:
Use sound in innovative and interesting ways to create a sound-based installation telling the story of your hero or heroine.
Consider why this person should be memorialized or commemorated and the arguments against their inclusion.
Create a series of arguments to persuade and reinforce the nomination of their proposed hero.
The schools’ competition requires the young participants to recognise the importance of listening to and engaging with others, rather than pursuing a singular route that only recognises one argument. Respectful listening and debating underpins the very essence of the GoLH ambition for its research, commissions, events, and exhibitions.
The Gallery of Living History is an exercise in storytelling, so students are being encouraged to think of innovative and interesting means of telling stories in their soundscapes. Your sound sculpture can be a narrative, a play for voices, a series of sound effects, or anything else you can imagine.
Pay special attention to how your design will be realised:
How is this story especially suited to a multimedia audio soundscape?
How can you tell a story in an accessible and exciting way?
What does sound mean to the subject of your design?
The subject of your soundscape should be a person, group of people, or something more abstract that you think deserves to be celebrated.
This is also an opportunity to work with others to create something truly special. Workshops will be held at Coventry University, and students from multiple disciplines will be on hand to help bring the students’ vision to life.
To find out more, download this Word document
If you have any questions or problems, please email Dr Bianca Wright at bianca.wright@coventry.ac.uk
JUDGES
Once the public has had the chance to vote on their favourite entry, the judging panel will also assess the entries and a winner will be selected based on the outcome of both processes.
The GOLH has already set about the creation of a prestigious judging panel led by Andy Serkis to whom school entries will be sent, and a team of expert supporting staff to help steer the work.
Meet our amazing judges below!
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Nathaniel L. Peat
Multi-Award Winning Entrepreneur, Patron, International Speaker (Inc TEDx), Chairman, Business Coach and man of many talents and achievements
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Shelina Janmohamed
Author, commentator and Vice President of Ogilvy Islamic Marketing
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Noorzaman Rashid
Chief Executive of CEME and former chair of the Foundation for Social Improvement
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Dr Roger Medwell
Former engineer and captain of industry
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Misan Harriman
Photographer, entrepreneur and social activist
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Esme Weil
Mathematician and PhD student
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The Reverend Professor Keith Magee
Senior Fellow and Visiting Professor of Practice in Cultural Justice at the University College London (UCL) Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and a Senior Fellow in Culture and Justice at its Centre on U.S. Politics (CUSP) and Chair of The Guardian Foundation
RULES
Schools will be encouraged to form teams of 3+ people, however, should a single pupil express an interest and complete the necessary application and submissions, special arrangements can be made to accommodate this.
A team can include students of varying ages from within the school.
Schools can enter up to three teams of pupils.
Participants should be between the ages of 11 and 18
The subject of the memorialisation for the installation should be a person, persons, or groups.
Abstract pieces are encouraged, and symbolic or representational works are also welcome
The Application must include a written statement detailing:
why you have chosen that particular person, persons, or group
details of their achievements (including dates)
why they need to be recognised or celebrated
who might oppose your suggestion
what they would say against the memorialisation
how you would convince them that this is the right person to be celebrated
The statement must be in written, video or audio form, accessible through a file upload that may be accessed by the assessors and judges. Videos or audio recordings must be three [3] minutes maximum
Shortlisted teams must be prepared to participate in a workshop to enable their final presentation to the judges. Failure to attend may disqualify the entry.
KEY DATES
27 November 2023 to register to compete
2 December workshops for teams
Deadline for nomination entries is 19 January 2024
Workshops for shortlisted teams will take place on Saturday, 3 February 2024 (TBC)
The finalists will be announced in April 2024
Public vote runs from 1 - 5 May 2024
Unveiling of the Winning entry on 20 June 2024