Coastwise launches the Coastwise Creative Competition

Date published: 28th October 2024

Last year Coastwise sponsored the international design competition The Climate Creatives Challenge #4. The design competition supported new and innovative approaches for communicating the impacts of climate change and the benefits of mitigation, adaptation and resilience.

Building upon the success of the Climate Creatives Challenge competition, the Coastwise Team has decided to launch its own North Norfolk-specific competition, the Coastwise Creative Competition.

The Coastwise Creative Competition aims to support new and innovative approaches for communicating about coastal erosion.

Entries should aim to answer the question, “How can we communicate coastal change along the North Norfolk coastline, its impacts on coastal communities, and the benefits of preparing and adapting?”

Coastwise and the judges are looking for entries in a variety of forms - these can be videos, photos, illustrations, paintings, poetry, music, audio poems, stories, animations, sculptures, written copy or even ceramics. Or any other media that lends itself to the topic.

Watch the following video to see what people produced for the International Climate Creatives Challenge competition.

The competition is open to everyone and will be judged in two categories – educational groups or establishments and individual entries with prizes of up to £500 for first place. Winning and shortlisted entries will be displayed in an exhibition.

Judges are looking for entries that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Communication of coastal change and adaptation in an interesting way
• Place-based stories from the North Norfolk Coast related to the impacts and the need to prepare for coastal erosion
• Actions that can be taken to adapt to the impacts of coastal erosion or climate change
• Entries that could raise awareness of coastal change and adaptation

Entries close at 15:00 BST on Friday 17 January 2025 and the shortlisted and winning entries will be displayed in an exhibition between Tuesday 18 March to Monday 5 May at the Simon Aspinall Wildlife Education Centre within the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Visitors Centre in Cley.

Find out more about the competition prizes and technical submission information here – www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/coastwise-creative-competition

Submissions should be sent to coastwise@north-norfolk.gov.uk. For larger video, audio or photography files please send these via a file transfer link to coastwise@north-norfolk.gov.uk if you have any problems please don’t hesitate to send an email and the team can help you get your submission sent across. Sculptures or paintings can be dropped off at the NNDC Office in Cromer (with a prior appointment).

Submissions should include:

• Name
• Age
• Educational establishment name (if appropriate)
• If you would like to enter as an educational group or establishment or an individual
• Contact details to notify shortlisted and winning applications
• A short paragraph describing your work, this may include your motivations, inspiration, the medium you used etc.

Cllr Harry Blathwayt, portfolio holder for Coast, said:

“This competition highlights the strikingly artistic and the technically beautiful aspects of the dynamically changing coast and I urge all creatives, artists, educators, describers and illustrators with something to show, say and do to enter.”

Click here for full terms and conditions.

This project is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.