A section for original work made in advance and submitted for adjudication, covering music composition, writing, visual arts, sculpture, design, photography and traditional crafts, entered by individuals in three school-age categories.
Creative arts is the section of South Africa’s national eisteddfod where the work is finished before the day and the entrant never has to perform it. It is Part 11 of the festival’s prospectus, and its stated purpose is to promote the creation of new compositions, poems, dramas, paintings and similar works. Instead of walking on to a stage, the entrant submits an object, a score or a text, and the adjudicator reads, looks at or listens to it and writes a report. That makes it the natural home for the children who compose, write, draw, sculpt or photograph rather than sing or dance.
The festival’s public page lists the categories the section provides for: music composition (classical and contemporary), literary work, visual arts, fine arts, sculpture, printmaking, design, photography, traditional African arts and crafts, and audio-visual productions. It also sets themes for the 2024 to 2026 cycle. Entrants may take inspiration from any of ten: Our fragile planet, The universal World, My happy place, Heroes, New life, My passion, Dreamscapes, Rebuilding the Future, Ancestry and Rites of Passage. Alternatively they may choose their own story to interpret, in which case the details of that story go on the entry and declaration form attached to the work.
The rules are about originality and honest sourcing. The participant, and no one else, must be the creator of the work in the form it is submitted; they may ask for advice but must make the piece themselves. Tracing existing images is not allowed. Copying an existing image to practise a technique, as students do in training, is accepted only if the source is fully acknowledged in the declaration of own work that goes with every entry. A piece that has already been entered in another section may not be entered again. Literary pieces can be written or typed and need not be performed, music must be submitted in staff notation (solfa is also accepted) and a recording is optional, and photographs of artworks are not accepted for adjudication: the physical work itself must arrive, unframed.
On eTalenter this is a single Individual item in the Off Stage category, open to both genders, in English, offered in three categories: Entry Level (Grades 0 to 3), Junior (Grades 4 to 7) and Senior (Grade 8 and above). It is scored out of 100 on a working scale and sets no time limit, because the festival’s public pages publish neither a time limit nor a marks scheme for this section; the detailed rules sit in the registration-gated prospectus, so your entry notice should state yours.
Organisers add a creative arts section because it needs no stage, no sound system and no running order, only a table or wall and a quiet judging session. Entries can be collected in advance, displayed together and adjudicated at leisure. If you decide to run it, say clearly in your notice which kinds of work you accept, how big a piece may be, and whether entrants must sign a declaration that the work is their own, because that declaration is what keeps the section fair.
Where Creative Arts is run
On eTalenter this item appears in one template, the one modelled on South Africa’s national eisteddfod, where it runs in all three entry categories. The ten themes, the original-work declaration, the ban on tracing and the rule that the physical artwork rather than a picture of it is judged are that festival’s own. Submitted-work classes in visual art, creative writing, photography and composition are common in school and community arts festivals, often under names such as art exhibition, creative writing or original composition, so use this page as a description of one festival’s section and write your own rules into your entry notice.
- South Africa
Key facts
- An Individual item in the Off Stage category, open to both genders, in English, offered in the Entry Level (Grades 0 to 3), Junior (Grades 4 to 7) and Senior (Grade 8 and above) categories
- The festival’s public list of categories: music composition (classical and contemporary), literary work, visual arts, fine arts, sculpture, printmaking, design, photography, traditional African arts and crafts, and audio-visual productions
- Ten suggested themes for 2024 to 2026 (from Our fragile planet to Rites of Passage), or an own-choice story whose details are written on the entry and declaration form
- The work must be the entrant’s own: tracing is not allowed, copying for technique practice must be acknowledged in the declaration of own work, and a piece already entered in another section cannot be entered here
- Literary work may be written or typed with no performance required; music is submitted in staff notation (solfa also accepted); photographs of artworks are not accepted and artworks should not be framed
- The template scores out of 100 on a working scale and sets no time limit; size, medium and category rules are in the registration-gated prospectus, so state them in your entry notice
- Idea, not a rule: give every entry an entry number and keep the entrant’s name off the front of the work, so the judge sees the piece and not the child
On eTalenter, Creative Arts is filed under Off Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Creative Arts is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.
What judges look at in Creative Arts
What a Creative Arts panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Originality: a piece that clearly comes from the entrant’s own idea and hand, with a declaration to match, scores above one that follows a model, a template or an adult’s hand
- Response to the theme or story: whether the work actually interprets one of the themes (or the own-choice story described on the form) rather than having the theme attached afterwards
- Technique and craft: control of the chosen medium, whether that is line and colour, clay, thread, notation, prose or a camera, with a finish that looks intended
- Composition and design: how the parts are arranged, whether the piece reads clearly at a glance and rewards a closer look, and whether a score, poem or object has a shape from start to end
- Imagination and voice: a distinctive way of seeing that goes beyond the obvious first idea, and that suits the age of the entrant
- Presentation and honesty of sourcing: a work that arrives clean, unframed and labelled, with every source acknowledged, avoids losing marks to avoidable faults
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Creative Arts under Scoring Setup, or start from the full drawing & painting judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Creative Arts
How entrants and their teachers usually get Creative Arts right on the day:
- Pick one theme early and write one sentence about what the piece will say; if you choose an own-choice story, write its details down at the start so they can go on the form
- Sketch, outline or draft three different ideas before committing, and choose the one that you could make well rather than the grandest one
- Make the piece yourself from first mark to last, and ask for advice only on questions such as colour or wording; keep a note of any source you looked at for technique
- If practising by copying an existing image, do it as a separate exercise, acknowledge the source, and then make a new original piece for the entry
- Plan the time backwards from the submission date: idea, rough version, final version, then two or three days spare for drying, proofreading or checking the score
- Check the piece against your event’s rules for size, medium and format, and sort out labelling, a clean mount and an unframed finish before it travels
- Write the declaration of own work carefully and sign it; do not leave the form until the last minute
- After the results, read the judge’s written report with the entrant and choose one thing to improve, which for most pieces is either clearer intent or a finer finish
Ready-made event templates that include Creative Arts
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Eisteddfod of South Africa (NEA) | Off Stage | Marks | 3 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Creative Arts judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Creative Arts judged on a performance?
No. In the festival’s own description the entrant submits finished work, such as an artwork, a written piece or a music score, and the adjudicator reviews it. Literary work does not have to be performed and music does not need a recording.
Can an entrant trace a picture or copy an existing image?
Tracing is not allowed. Copying an existing image to practise a technique is accepted by the festival only if the source is fully acknowledged on the declaration of own work, and the final entry must still be the entrant’s own creation.
Can I send a photograph of the artwork instead of the artwork?
Not in the festival’s rules: photographs of artworks are not accepted for adjudication, and artworks should be submitted unframed. If you run an online event, decide what you will accept and say so in your entry notice.
Can a piece already used in another section be entered?
The festival does not allow an item already entered in any other section to be entered in Creative Arts. Consider copying that rule if your event has several sections.
What marks does eTalenter give this item?
The template scores each entry out of 100 on a working scale, with no time limit, since the festival’s public pages do not publish a marks scheme. You can edit the criteria and weighting to suit the kinds of work you accept.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full drawing & painting judging criteria guide, or browse every off stage competition item.
Try Creative Arts in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Creative Arts, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.