Paint brushes at the ready: the 2014 FAI Young Artists Contest is now open !

The FAI invites all youngsters from the age of 6 to 17 to take part in the 2014 FAI Young Artists Contest, a painting competition that gives an opportunity to young artists to express themselves artistically according to a given theme. The 2014 theme is “Flying to save lives”.

Gold, Silver and Bronze FAI Medals will be awarded to the winners for the 3 age categories (6-9, 10-13, 14-17 years old) following a Jury decision in April 2014.

To enter the contest, young people must first contact the FAI Member in their country and check with them the deadline to submit their drawing. They must then send their artworks to their FAI Member.

The participating FAI Members will each make a selection of the three best artworks in each category and send the chosen artworks to the FAI by 1 April 2014.

More information about the FAI Young Artist Contest rules and guidelines can be found on the FAI website.

Interpretation of the 2014 theme - "Flying to save lives"

On any given day, hikers head out on mountain trails, fishing captains take their boats out to sea, and park rangers climb towers to survey the lands they are entrusted to protect. People have always headed out into the wilderness, away from home and searching for adventure and food. Going into the unknown always has a risk, but today’s explorers have great allies in today’s aircraft.

When bad weather turns a mountaintop dangerous, helicopters are a climber’s best friend. Search and rescue helicopters can find them and take them off the mountain to safety.  When hikers get lost in the trails, planes are crucial in the search, often using high-tech gear like infrared technology to find them by their body heat, even when they can’t be seen by the naked eye.

When ocean storms begin to build, it’s brave pilots and in specially designed weather planes that fly around and through the storms to gather information about how big the storm is and where it is going – giving people in the path of the storm warning to get to safety. When ships are caught in the storms, it’s those amazing helicopters again that can find the ship, hover over it, and take up the crew if the ship is danger of sinking.

Sometimes, it’s not what an aircraft picks up, but what it leaves behind. When fires rage and firefighters need help battling them in remote areas, it’s firefighting helicopters and planes to the rescue. Helicopters carry massive buckets of water to the fire while specially designed planes carry the water inside, dropping it or other fire-retardant chemicals on the fire to put it out in areas fire trucks can’t approach.

In all these ways and more, aircraft and the brave men and women who fly them look out for us over land and sea. Now it’s time to grab your favorite art supplies, have fun, and create an artwork that celebrates how Flying Saves Lives.