Want to do something creative and positive at home during the lockdown? Aged 11-24 and live, work or study in Nottingham? Enter this totally free competition to win cash prizes and life-changing opportunities...
Animation and Digital
Like making things that move on your screen? Previous winners have sent in animated gifs, stop motion films, computer games and more. If you’re a wizard at this stuff then show off your work.
More information about the Animation and Digital category
Nottingham-based YCA Sponsors Affinity are now offering their Digital software free for 3 months.
Creative Writing
Use your imagination to create a world with your words. Create a short story, a poem or even an article at home. This could be entirely fictional or you could write about yourself and what it's like to not be allowed out. If your teacher has already set you a creative writing task, you can also enter this into the awards. You just need to get it typed up and submitted through our online system.
More information about the YCA Creative Writing category
Dance
Choreographed or freestyle, create your own dance moves in the living room (or the garden if you don’t want any breakages). You could be a solo act or you could rally together your siblings / housemates to create the best dance crew in the neighbourhood. This is a super way to keep fit and to use up energy in a fun, creative way. Then just film it and submit it through our online system with an explanation of the thought that went into it.
More information about the YCA Dance category
Design and Architecture
There are loads of ways you can can create something in this category. If Cluedo and Monopoly are boring you, you could design your own board game. You could get together beads and strings to create a new piece of jewellery. You can make homemade clay with salt, water and cornstarch and try your hand at a piece of pottery. Or you can imagine your dream house or castle and send us the designs in. The possibilities are endless. After you've done one of these things, take photos of your best effort and send them to us with some words of explanation in a PDF file.
More about the YCA Design and Architecture category
Note: Nottingham-based YCA Sponsors Affinity are now offering their Design software free for 3 months.
Fashion and Textiles
Are you a ninja with knitting needles? Have you always wanted to design shoes, hats, bags, jewellery or other fashion accessories? Now’s your chance to become the next fashion icon. The 2018 winner of this category went on to work with Beyonce, so we’re really not messing around. Get creative at home and send through photos of what you come up with.
More information about the YCA Fashion and Textiles category
Film
Are you the next Spielberg? We realise in this downtime that you’re not going to be able to recruit a cast of thousands or film on location, but that means you have to be even more creative! Get filming on your phone or camera and you never know what you might come up with.
More information about the YCA Film category
Nottingham-based YCA Sponsors Affinity are now offering their Video editing software free for 3 months.
Graphic Design
Got a tablet or computer at home? You could create your own comic book (maybe design your own superhero?) or put together a magazine (it could about any subject you like). You could design a book cover for the Creative Writing piece you are entering (yes you can enter more than one category). You could create an advert for staying home or washing your hands. It just needs to be a digital piece of work that you submit to us as a jpeg or pdf file.
More about the YCA Graphic Design category
Nottingham-based YCA Sponsors Affinity are now offering their Graphic Design software free for 3 months.
Music
Have you got the music in you? You could use rice in boxes as maracas, saucepan lids as cymbals, or just use the beautiful instrument of your own voice. Alternatively, apps like GarageBand can be used to help fill in where you don’t have instruments. The judges in this category keenly stress they’re judging on creativity and not the quality of the recording, so you don’t need to worry about that either. So long as it’s an original piece, you’re golden. Just upload your composition, write some words to explain it and send YCA a link so they can give it a listen.
More about the YCA Music category
Photography
Taking stunning photos is made even easier nowadays thanks to having phones and tablets. You can take pictures outside in the garden, snapping all the loveliness of spring, or inside with artful angles or even by setting up your own photoshoots using props in the house and having a family member pose for the camera. Then send us the photos and a few words about your thoughts behind them.
More about the YCA Photography Category
Nottingham-based YCA Sponsors Affinity are now offering their Photo editing software free for 3 months.
Visual Arts
This is another great category that you can enter with work produced at home. You could draw or paint, a loved pet, a flower in the garden, or something else entirely - then send a photo of your creation. Or you can go down the digital route and create some art on your computer and send it through. So long as it's your own work, you're sorted.
More about the YCA Visual Arts Category
The Young Creative Awards are open for entry until Monday 27 April.
Young Creative Awards website
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