TEHRAN-A painting by an Iranian girl has received an honorable mention from the 51st International Children’s Exhibition of Fine Arts (ICEFA) Lidice, Czech Republic.

Adrina Shirkavand, 10 years old, from Varamin, Tehran, has received the award for her painting, ILNA reported on Monday.

A total of 16,416 artworks from 83 countries entered the ICEFA Lidice 2023 competition on the theme “Dance”. After careful consideration, the jury awarded 1,305 artworks.

Awards to participants all over the world will be distributed in cooperation with Czech embassies and consulates during autumn and winter.

All the award-winning entries have been exhibited at the Lidice Gallery since June 1. They will remain on display until January 31, 2024.

Last year, in the 50th edition of the event, six children from Iran, aged 5 to 16, had received honorable mentions in different categories. 

The award-winning works included painting and drawings by Anahita Afshari, Atrin Afshari, Arsen Hamedian, and Parvaneh Siavoshi as well as a photograph by Rozhin Panahandeh and mixed media work by Elia Shamsian. The 50th ICEFA Lidice was dedicated to the theme of “Museum”

The ICEFA Lidice was established in 1967 to commemorate the child victims from the Czech village of Lidice murdered by German Nazis, as well as all other children who have died in wars.

Although national initially, the exhibition went international in 1973 and since then it has become well known among children and teachers not only in the country but also literally all over the world. 

Every year, the exhibition bears a unique theme chosen by the Lidice Memorial in cooperation with the UNESCO. 

ICEFA Lidice is a one round competition for children 4 to 16 years for all types of schools and organizations working with children – nursery schools, primary schools, primary art schools, special schools, leisure-time centers of children and youth, children’s houses, multi-year grammar schools and other secondary schools. Individuals can participate as well. The expert panel of judges consists of art teachers and visual artists. The works are awarded honorable mentions and the best of them obtain “Rose of Lidice” medals.

Photo: The painting by Adrina Shirkavand is on display at the Lidice Gallery along with other award-winning works until January 31, 2024.

SS/SAB