REimagine a historic masterpiece

REimagine, a creative global competition offering the chance of an exhibition at Cardiff University, is launched.

REimagine sets the challenge of re-creating a historic masterpiece from the world’s largest searchable Illustration Archive in a creative way.

Writing, drawing, baking, building or sewing, entries may take a range of forms, expressing creativity in response to an image from the million-strong Illustration Archive.

Whether you’re at school, in a club or a budding author, sewing bee enthusiast, Bake Off fan or would be artist, the competition is open to all. For inspiration, watch the REimagine youTube video https://youtu.be/J81veSzrZr8

Entrants can pick any image from one million illustrations spanning the eighteenth to the twentieth century from literature, history, geography, philosophy, and science in The Illustration Archive. The challenge is to get creative and turn this historic illustration into a new re-imagined masterpiece.

The Illustration Archive makes searchable a million illustrations from the British Library’s collection. This free resource is made possible through the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and collaboration between experts in Cardiff University’s School of English, Communication and Philosophy and the School of Computer Science and Informatics.

The competition is the initiative of The Illustration Archive team at Cardiff University. Director of the project, Julia Thomas, Professor of English Literature, comments: ‘We have been delighted by the response to The Illustration Archive, with people accessing it from all over the world. The REimagine competition invites entrants to create works of art or craft inspired by these illustrations. We want the competition to challenge perceptions of historic illustrations, and to show how these pictures from the past are relevant to us today.’

The competition has categories for under and over 16 year olds. Winners will have their works of art displayed in a special exhibition at Cardiff University and in an online exhibition. They will also receive Quentin Blake books signed by the celebrated illustrator plus Amazon vouchers. Shortlisted entrants will receive Illustration Archive goody bags.

The REimagine entry deadline is 14 December 2015.To enter and for full details, go to illustrationarchive.cf.ac.uk/reimagine