The Greek Festival of Sydney, proudly supported by Bank of Sydney, held the ‘1st Greek Youth Creative Arts Competition’ this year to celebrate the works of people aged 12-15 years old, 16-18 years old and 19-24 years old.
The theme of the inaugural competition was “Greece within me” and it was broken into three creative categories – art, writing and music.
The Greek Herald exclusively revealed the finalists of the competition on Thursday, April 18, with the winners and runners-up set to be officially announced at an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 28.
The ceremony, which was held at the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum from 2pm, saw a large number of Greek youth and their families attend to see who would be crowned winner in their respective categories and age groups.
A number of official guests were also in attendance on Sunday, including the President of the Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales (GOCNSW), Harry Danalis, the First Secretary for Public Diplomacy of Greece in Australia at the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, Anastasia Christofilopoulou, the Chair of the Greek Festival of Sydney, Nia Karteris, and distinguished Australian Orchestra Conductor and Composer, George Ellis.
On the day, Mr Danalis and Ms Christofilopoulou gave speeches and congratulated the students on taking part in the competition. Basilia Dionysia Giannarakis, a competition participant in the Arts category (age group 19 – 24), also spoke about how it felt to participate and encouraged more youth to take part next year.
The winners are runners up for each category and age group were:
Arts Category, Age group 12-15
- Winner: Krystal Preketes
- 2nd place (runner up): Eva Tsonis
Arts Category, Age group 16-18
- Winner: Kosta Giitsidis
- 2nd place (runner up): Jacinda Papadopoulos
Arts Category, Age group 19-24
- Winner: Basilia Giannarakis
- 2nd place (runner up): Alessandro Yannis Balaguer
Writing Category, Age group 12-15
- Winner: Zaharenya Filactos
- No runner up.
Writing Category, Age group 16-18
- Winner: Damascin George Cosgrove
- 2nd place (runner up): Andrew Caramanis
Writing Category, Age group 19-24
- Winner: Emily Papagianopoulos
- 2nd place (runner up): Jessica Wiseman-Best
Music Category, Age group 16-18
- Winner: Savvas Sousamidis
Music Category, Age group 19-24
- Christopher Lampropoulos & Kosta Papoulidis
Each winner from their respective categories received a monetary award of $1,000, while the runner up received $500.
It was also announced at the award ceremony that judges could not select a winner and runner-up for the Music Category (12-15 age group) as all entries defaulted under ‘performances’ and not under ‘original music works (compositions)’ as per the competition’s rules. In spite of this, a $100 voucher was presented to all participants in the 12-15 age group. This included George Athanasiou, Eleftherios Giannas, Krystal Rose Dawson, Sienna Swan Dawson and Nikolaos Vasilas.
At the conclusion of the award ceremony, all winners were interviewed regarding their experience. Each winner expressed a shared sentiment, encouraging greater youth participation in the following year. They unanimously believed that the competition served as a platform to exhibit their talents and works to a wider audience encompassing both Greek and Australian communities.
They articulated that the competition facilitated a voice and connection among young artists, providing an opportunity to deepen their understanding of and reflection on their Greek heritage. Moreover, they emphasised the chance to highlight their distinctive Greek experiences.
Looking ahead, the creative arts competition is slated to evolve into a creative and performing arts competition by 2025.
