CBeebies Art magazine teams up with National Portrait Gallery

CBeebies Art magazine has launched a competition inviting readers aged three to seven to create a portrait of their family imagined as the British Royal Family.

To coincide with the Diamond Jubilee, the winner of the competition, created in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, will be announced on 5 June 2012.

Entries are now open until 30th May 2012

The winner will receive a printed framed copy of their winning portrait. Also, the winner and five runners-up, along with their families, will enjoy a special tour of the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition The Queen: Art & Image, followed by an exclusive animation workshop with an artist. They will also each receive an arty goody bag.

To get little ones’ creative juices flowing, issues 48 (on sale now) and 49 (on sale 23 May) of CBeebies Art magazine provides inspiration, including a list of ‘top tips’ from artists at the National Portrait Gallery and features on royal portraits commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, including Nicky Philipps’ portrait Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, 2009. The National Portrait Gallery will also be holding free Royal Art Workshops and Storytelling sessions for families in conjunction with CBeebies Art magazine on Saturday 19 May and Saturday 26 May.

“This is a fantastic collaboration between CBeebies Art magazine and the art institution that is the National Portrait Gallery," says Stephanie Cooper, editor of CBeebies Art magazine.

"We both have shared aims in promoting art appreciation and making art history accessible to all ages, so this is a great creative opportunity for kids to get creatively involved with an important date in British history. I am so excited to see what they come up with!”

"We're delighted to be working with CBeebies Art magazine to produce these two special issues," added the National Portrait Gallery's Liz Smith, Head of Participation and Learning, "and also to be running some special free activities around Royal portraits in May at the Gallery.

"It’s an exciting way to add to our programme for family audiences, and to encourage families to learn to look at and explore Royal portraits from our Collection in the lead up to the Diamond Jubilee and The Queen: Art & Image. We are looking forward to seeing the imaginative responses from the young artists in the portraits submitted”.