"Very few teachers and parents, and therefore their young chargers, realise that there are lucrative and rewarding careers to be had outside the traditional fields. Consequently, children who show no aptitude for facts and figures but 'like drawing', are often warned that 'drawing well' will not help them earn a living when they leave school when in fact we are so very keen to foster these 'drawing' skills so that they can be used to grow the advertising, marketing communication and design industries in years to come," explains Andrew Human, managing director of The Loerie Awards.
The Loerie Awards endeavour to reward creativity across various disciplines, from interior design, architecture and advertising copywriting to eventing and interactive such as web and internet. While the organisation has several objectives, including co-ordinating the annual competition and its awards ceremony, high on its agenda is also fostering creative excellence and nurturing its development.
"The exhibition's critical task is to educate and excite young learners about careers in the advertising industry, particularly those youngsters whose talents lie in the creative fields, such as art, photography, music, writing poetry or telling stories, and so on," says Human.
"I'd urge teachers and parents of children who display these talents to visit the travelling exhibition with these learners so that they can discover that there is an industry - a very rewarding and exciting industry - that needs these skills to prosper."
Co-hosted by the SABC, one of the 2006 Loerie Awards' major partners, the travelling exhibition was launched earlier this year at the 2006 Design Indaba Expo held in Cape Town. Over 15 500 people attended the Expo and had the opportunity to see the exhibition, the first of its kind from The Loerie Awards.
Dates: April 3 to April 9
Venue: Vega School of Advertising
Address: 5 Sookhay Place, University Road (off Jan Smuts Highway), Derby Downs, Westville
Times: 09h00 to 17h00
The exhibition moves to the Rand Show from 14 April to 1 May; Vega School of Advertising in Johannesburg from 22 May to 29 May; the Grahamstown Arts Festival from 29 June to 8 July; and the Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography 3 - 17 August. It will also show at the Margate Art Gallery later in the year.
Anyone interested in hosting the exhibition - principals and art teachers at secondary schools and tertiary institutions such as technikons, as well as youth group co-ordinators, and so on - should visit www.theloerieawards.co.za.
For further information call Greg Tregoning on +27 (0)31 266 2595 or email greg@vegaschool.co.za.
