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ELSA WINS PRESTIGIOUS ‘DISCOVER ARTICULATION CHALLENGE’ 

18 July 2024  |  Sven Wardle  |  Posted in: , , ,

Earlier on this term, Elsa Wright, Year 12 student at Richmond Sixth Form College, won the Head Teacher’s CREDIT Values Award for her success in the nation wide ‘Discover Articulation Challenge’ organised by the School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. She won the competition overall as well as the research prize.

We caught up with Elsa to find out a little more about the challenge and the process she had gone through to enter, get shortlisted and eventually to win!

RS: How did you come to enter the challenge in the first place, Elsa?

E: It was at a Year 12 assembly in January. Ms Johnson was talking about all the opportunities that were available – summer schools and things. I spotted the ‘Discover Articulation Challenge’, looked into it a bit and realised that the art history aspect suited me perfectly. To enter, you had to create a two to three minute video based on an art piece of your choice. I chose a painting called “The Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio.

RS: Ok. What drew you to this particular painting and why did you feel it was suitable for your video?

E: It’s a period of art I’m really interested in – the early Baroque period. Caravaggio was the revolutionary artist who drove the transition from the end of the Renaissance into the early Baroque. Plus this painting has so many fascinating little details and techniques that Caravaggio uses to draw the viewer in and engage with them. It’s also an incredibly influential painting – later artists such as Rembrandt and Velasquez used the same narrative in some of their work. There was a lot to talk about!

RS: Give us some examples of these techniques – why is the painting so engaging?

E: There are so many! The bowl of fruit is hanging over the edge of the table – it makes you want to reach in and stop it falling off! There’s an empty space at the table, inviting you in to join in. St Peter’s outstretched arm draws you in too. Caravaggio’s use of lower class citizens is fascinating as well – no other artist was doing this in religious painting at this time.

RS: How was the challenge structured after you entered – there were quite a few different stages, weren’t there?

E: Yes. I submitted my video to start with. The videos – there were hundreds of entries, apparently! – were then narrowed down to the six finalists. We then had to produce a presentation based on the video, but extend it to seven minutes. They gave us feedback on our original films and we attended two online confidence building sessions where we were given lots of advice about presentation skills and public speaking – being articulate – that’s why it’s the ‘Articulation Challenge’.

RS: So, the film was just the starting point, getting you into the final, as it were. How did you use the advice from the confidence building sessions to change your three minute video into a seven minute presentation?

E: I actually cut out a lot of the information from the film. I removed most of the text and cut it from 6 to 3 slides. I tried to really zoom in and focus just on what I wanted to say and to demonstrate the depth of my knowledge about certain aspects of the painting. I also tried to get some of my own opinions and emotions into my talk – some of the other talks were quite factual when I listened to them on the day.

RS: So, it sounds like you narrowed things down but really increased the depth of the information – a brilliant way of demonstrating that you’d listened to and acted on the feedback and really understood the nature of the challenge.

Talk us through the day when you went to Leeds to give your presentation with the other finalists.

E: We arrived at the Parkinson Building – the main Leeds University building – where we were met by a student ambassador who took us over to the Clothworkers Building where the competition was being held. We had an introductory talk from one of the Fine Art Lecturers, then two students talked about student life, university accommodation and the art courses they offer at Leeds. 

The competition finalists then had a chance to meet each other and to have a run through of their presentations to an empty room. We then had lunch and presented our talks and our slides in front of an audience of about 70 people – friends and family, the judges, representatives from the art department at Leeds and some of the finalists had come along with other members of their classes.

RS: How did your talk go – were you nervous? – and what were your thoughts about the other presentations?

E: I was pleased with how my talk went. One of the judges told me I was bang on seven minutes! I wasn’t really nervous – more excited. I felt like I was in the zone!

The other talks were fascinating. There was a Turner painting, a Hopper painting and the ‘Oyster Dress’ by Alexander McQueen –  a real mix of genres and styles and time periods – mine was the oldest piece there. It was lovely to see so many different talks and how art affects people so differently. A real highpoint for me was the talk that won the presentation prize. It was about an installation called ‘Reserve of the Dead Swiss’ – a piece that deals with the trauma of the holocaust. The presenter only had one slide with a picture of the piece – no text – for the whole 7 minutes. It was so impactful and moving just looking at that one slide while listening to her speak. She was so brave!

RS: And you won?!

E: I did! The judges went away for a bit after the talks and announced the winners – I won the overall prize and also the research prize.

RS: Fantastic! It sounds like the whole process has been really interesting and informative. What are the main things you’ve learned from it and what are your plans for the future – is it Art History you’re aiming for?

E: I’m definitely better at public speaking than I was! I’m used to being on stage in a music ensemble and a choir, but I think this has given me more confidence to perform on my own. It’s definitely taught me a lot about what makes a good presentation. Thanks to Ms Johnson for pointing me in the right direction in the first place and giving me so much guidance throughout the process. Thanks also to mum for driving me down to Leeds and to dad for listening to the presentation so many times!

And the future – university definitely. I’ve found a course at Edinburgh that combines fine art and art history. It suits my personality – I like trying lots of different things and jumping from one to the other. I also like the Scottish system – it seems to be really flexible and accommodating. Beyond that – an art history masters degree? Museum curation? We’ll see!

RS: Elsa, thanks for taking the time to give us such an excellent insight into the Discover Articulation Challenge. Hopefully your experience will inspire others to enter in the future. All the very best for the year ahead and make sure to keep us informed about any more amazing achievements!

You can watch Elsa’s three minute video here:

https://youtu.be/fDssTg36heQ

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