Names of the winners of the drawing contest The Vanishing World of the Taiga unveiled

31 march 2023

SIBUR has published the results of the children's drawing contest The Vanishing World of the Taiga dedicated to rare and endangered animal species of Russia’s North. The contest among students of art schools and studios in Nizhnevartovsk, Nyagan and Pyt-Yakh (KhMAO-Yugra), as well as in Gubkinsky, Muravlenko and Noyabrsk (YNAO) was held as part of the Living Symbols of the Taiga project implemented within the framework of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program.

A total of 131 works of art had been entered in the contest. The largest number of contest entries, 48, had come from Nizhnevartovsk. Most of the drawings pictured such popular animals as a reindeer, a pika, a Eurasian beaver, a Eurasian hedgehog, a red-breasted goose, a Siberian white crane, and an eagle owl.

The contest’s jury had to establish whether the artworks were compliant with the set theme of the contest, while also evaluating the degree of originality of the ideas behind the drawings, the presence of the artists’ own unique findings and solutions, as well as the quality of technique and likeness of the drawings’ subjects.

This contest was a great opportunity for teachers and students to explore the red-listed animal species of our country’s northern regions and to try to render the images of these rare animals. It was especially gratifying to see that some art schools had held dedicated classes focusing on the endangered world of the taiga. The jury’s job was a challenging one, because each picture is truly unique in its own way. We thank all the participants for their interest and creative ideas, Elena Snezhko, Head of SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program, noted.

The contest’s awards went to the winners in three age groups: 6- to 10-year-olds, 11- to 14-year-olds, and 15- to 17-year-olds. The jury ultimately decided to put on an online exhibition of drawings of rare and endangered animal species of the North. It includes 80 works of art drawn by the contest’s participants. These works are available for viewing on the Formula for Good Deeds program’s website at https://www.formula-hd.ru/projects/nature/zhivye-simvoly-taygi/

In my drawing, I portrayed the polar bear as the lord of the Arctic. His body was meant to symbolize and bear the various elements of the stunning beauty of the Yamal area. This includes the water, which is so abundant in our parts. The bright sun, of which there may be too little to be seen, but it really warms us up so much in summer. The grass that is also very much needed in nature and is so important as food for bears. The sky with its clouds that make you want to reach out and touch them with your hand!, Darya Titova, a student of Children's Art School and a participant of the contest from Muravlenko, commented.

When I was making the drawing of the red-breasted goose, I was being inspired by the rich fauna of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra. I chose this bird because of its unusual color pattern and its interesting name. It was not too hard for me to paint the bird itself but it was challenging to paint the background around it properly. It is a very rare bird, it is on the verge of being extinct, it cannot be hunted, Alisa Dugina, a student of Children's Art School No. 1 and a participant of the contest from Nizhnevartovsk, explained.

I chose the forest reindeer for my drawing because it fascinates me with its majestic beauty and tranquility. I wanted to portray a reindeer with a baby deer and show how graceful these animals can be in the harsh winter expanses of Yugra, Vladislava Rudkovskaya, a student of Children's Art School No. 3 and a participant of the contest from Nizhnevartovsk, noted.

WINNERS OF THE CONTEST THE VANISHING WORLD OF THE TAIGA:

AGE GROUP: 6 to 10 YEARS OLD

1st place: Olga Bogorodskaya with the drawing titled "The Curlew", representing Children's Art School in Muravlenko

2nd place:

Valeria Ermashova with the drawing titled "The Siberian White Crane", representing the House of Children's Creativity in Gubkinsky

Veronika Khorushina with the drawing titled “The Sublime", representing Children's Art School No. 3 in Nizhnevartovsk

3rd place: Sofya Vershinina with the drawing titled "A Pretty Thorn", representing Imagineers art studio in Nizhnevartovsk

AGE GROUP: 11 to 14 YEARS OLD

1st place: Viktoria Romanova with the drawing titled "The Gyrfalcon", representing Imagineers art studio in Nizhnevartovsk

2nd place: Elina Nurmukhametova with the drawing titled "A Family of Pikas on a walk", representing Children's Art School No. 3 in Nizhnevartovsk

Milana Shamsutdinova, with the drawing titled "A pika sitting on the rocks", representing Children's Art School in Pyt-Yakh

3rd place: Angelina Menshenina with the drawing titled "Let Us Save Them", representing Children's Art School in Nyagan

AGE GROUP: 15 to 17 YEARS OLD

1st place: Vasilisa Zharkova with the drawing titled "The Snowy Owl",

representing Children's Art School in Muravlenko

2nd place: Zaynab Guseinova with the drawing titled "The Reindeer", representing Drawing Together Art Studio in Nizhnevartovsk

3rd place: Zlata Zatyazhnykh with the drawing titled "The Urals’ northern pika" representing Children's Art School No. 1 in Nizhnevartovsk.

The jury decided to additionally award special prizes for the originality of the story behind the drawing:

•        "The Lord of the Arctic", by Daria Titova, representing Children's Art School in Muravlenko;

•        "A Magical Encounter with a Beluga Whale," by Nastasia Shershneva, representing Children's Art School in Muravlenko.

The images drawn by the contest’s winners will be used to make gifts and souvenirs to commemorate the Living Symbols of the Taiga project. They will also feature as part of the special mobile exhibition of photographs and drawings scheduled to visit Nizhnevartovsk, Noyabrsk and Pyt-Yakh in late 2023. All contest participants will be issued personal electronic certificates attesting to their participation in the drawing contest.