A Sunshine Coast student was honoured at last night's Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) Excellence in Art and Design Awards 2025.
Cynthia Shi, a student at Sunshine Coast Grammar School in Forest Glen received an Award of Excellence in the Years 3 - 4 category for her work titled Friends Night Scene.
Years 3 - 4 category reviewer Jennifer Chaplin said Cynthia's piece involved playful use of colour in the composition.
"The artist has brough to life a moment in time," Jennifer said.
"There is skilful use of colour to create a night sky in the background while blossoming friendship casts a spell on the audience in the foreground," she said.
The annual Art Awards were established in 1994 to promote and encourage artistic students and celebrate their flair for creativity.
At last night's presentation, held at the Queensland Multicultural Centre in Brisbane, Awardees' artworks were displayed in an exhibition and recipients were presented with certificates and a cash prize.
IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said the reviewers were wowed by the quality of the hundreds of submissions across all age groups in response to the 2025 theme of 'Friends'.
"The reviewers commented on the high standard of entries and the varied and creative interpretations that entrants brought to this year's theme," Mr Burke said.
"Our union established the Awards to promote and encourage artistic students and celebrate their flair for creativity.
"Art is a very important area of learning in schools, and IEU-QNT is proud to support the artistic talent of students and staff in the Queensland and Northern Territory non-government sector," he said.
See the full list of recipients of 2025 Awards of Excellence and Highly Commended Awards attached.
