Name: Siyona Bhandari
Location: United Kingdom
Trinity qualification: Gold Arts Award
Siyona Bhandari, a 15-year-old visual artist, began her artistic journey at the age of two, expressing her creativity by drawing as much as possible, including on walls and tables! Encouraged by her parents, at just four-years-old she entered and won a calendar design competition, truly igniting her creative aspirations.
Completing her Gold Arts Award marked another turning point in her journey, allowing her to articulate her creative process and elevate her work. Siyona explains:
'Before the qualification, I was just making art, taking a picture, or hanging it on the wall, but now I can take it to another level. I was able to show how I made it and I can lay down my thought process for each step.'
Arts Award helped Siyona grow her confidence, and provided her with the sophistication and language to really analyse and present her work, which proved invaluable when she appeared on CBBC’s Britain’s Best Young Artist. Being featured on the show was described as a surreal experience that she would never have anticipated.
'Arts Award has prepared me to share my artwork publicly… but I would never have imagined that such an experience would come to me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.'
It also pushed her to broaden her skillset. Having previously gravitated to pencils, pens, and acrylics, she became less conservative with her choice of mediums, branching out to experiment with watercolours and soft pastels.
Despite her youth, Siyona is already aware of the power of self-belief, and doesn’t think young people should ever feel limited based on their age:
'Age isn't a barrier and if you want to keep going, then keep doing it.'
She also strongly endorses Arts Award for anybody who wants to discover more about the creative sector, and themselves.
'I think that is definitely worth doing it because not only will you develop your art skills but you'll also just develop as a person, The way you do art will really change and it will just really broaden the way you look at art as well.'
“Before the qualification, I was just making art, taking a picture, or hanging it on the wall, but now I can take it to another level.”
