Creatives heed call for entries

Artists, composers, filmmakers and writers responded strongly to a call for entries from a festival celebrating and encouraging the production of creative arts for ministry.

The Manifest Creative Arts Festival is offering up to $1000 for winning entries in its competitions.

Manifest is coordinated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific through the Adventist Media Network and Avondale College of Higher Education.

The entities are offering $4000 in cash for original creative pieces in filmmaking, fine arts, song composing and writing. Entrants can win up to $1000 in each area.

“We received 74 entries, which is a big increase on last year,” says co-convenor Brenton Stacey, public relations officer at Avondale. “And surprisingly, the entries were evenly spread across each competition.”

Manifest has increased the number of competitions from three to five since the inaugural festival last year. New this year is a competition in fine arts, sponsored by Avondale, and a competition in song composing in the praise and worship genre, sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific’s Institute of Worship. Returning is the Hope Channel Filmmaking Competition, the Psalter Music Song Composing Competition and the Signs Publishing Company Writing Competition.

Besides prizes for the best entry in each competition, Manifest is also offering an Avondale College of Higher Education Young Achiever Prize—a $500 discount on the winner’s accommodation, service and facility or tuition fees at Avondale—for entrants aged 21 and under.

Judging ends on Thursday this week with finalists notified on Friday.

“I’m impressed by most of what I’ve heard, seen and read,” says Brenton. “I wish all entrants the best and thank them for taking the time to enter.”

Manifest will announce the winners during the Gabe Reynaud Awards on Saturday, March 31. The ceremony begins in Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church at 6.30 PM.