SPEECH BY PRESIDENT ROBINSON AT THE 40TH TEXACO NATIONAL CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT ROBINSON AT THE PRESENTATION OF PRIZES TO THE WINNERS OF THE 40TH TEXACO NATIONAL CHILDREN'S ART COMPETITION
Young citizens and artists, ladies and gentlemen
I am honoured to participate in this great occasion for you all.
To-day we celebrate the talented winners of the 40th Texaco National Children's Art Competition. I would like to pay tribute to its sponsors, Texaco (Ireland) Ltd., whose commitment has made this one of our most enduring sponsorships. It is an excellent example of co-operation between the enterprise and cultural aspects of our community. For 40 years now it has galvanised young people into creative activity and provided an introduction to the joys and the pains of self-expression. So much has this competition become a feature of our lives that it now spans the generations and many of the proud parents present to-day are making a return journey, having been eager contestants themselves in the not so dim and distant past.
But my primary and most pleasant function to-day is to congratulate all the young people who took part in the competition this year and, in particular, the prizewinners of the various categories. The quality of the works exhibited shows clearly that a new generation is finding its voice and is possessed of the necessary talents to articulate its view of the world they will soon inherit.
In this regard, I will risk the charge of cultural subversion and urge young people in their artistic expressions to pursue their own vision and remain true to their perception of the world regardless of the advice and dictates of their elders. For, in the realm of artistic expression, the advice of elders can only be as valid as a young person's own instincts and experiences. Indeed, as all young people know, once a person reaches a certain age....(I understand it is somewhere in the 20's!)....their imagination grows dim and they become set in their ways. It is, therefore, the sacred duty of each succeeding generation to provide the imaginative stimulus that their elders, in their turn, provided when younger. One of the most immediate and effective ways of doing this is through your art. Your music and your fashion and the freshness and originality of your approach, as demonstrated by the works on show to-day, fill me with admiration and confidence for the future.
I am greatly encouraged by the sensitivity, insight and skill on show to-day. Indeed such is the maturity of these works that I would almost have to query the title of this competition.... for these are works of art that would bear critical appraisal in any forum and not just in the context of a Children's or Young adults competition. I am reminded of Picasso's remark as he wandered through a similar exhibition "When I was their age" he said, "I could paint like Raphael. But it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like these".
Whether or not any of you will further develop your talents and use them in your later careers your achievements here to-day will always mark a high point in your lives - a point where the support and encouragement of your families and teachers, your own skills, your dedication and your hard work have all come together in triumph and found due award and acclaim. I congratulate you all and wish you many more such moments in your future lives. I now take great pleasure in proceeding to the presentation of prizes.