Arts, Crafts & Photographic Competition
From the very inception of RSVP it was clear that many of our members, in addition to volunteering, also had a lot of creative talent. To encourage this, in 2001 we held the first competitive exhibition of their photographic work at the Saddlers' Livery Hall in London, entitled 'Retire into Action'.
The aim was to encourage them to take pictures of the many aspects of their volunteering work which could then be used in our Regional Newsletters and national publications. It was a great success and the best of the work entered was later incorporated into our exhibition stands and leaflets. and led to the creation of biennial exhibitions to cover a wider range of their creative ability.
Two more exhibitions followed: 'Time to Create' in 2003, and 'Fit for a King' in 2005 which was given this title because the work was to be shown at Hampton Court Palace in the premises of the Royal School of Needlework. However, the day that we were to move the exhibits to Hampton Court was July 7th when the terrorist bombs brought a dreadful loss of life. In the chaos that followed the Kings Cross area was completely sealed off. We were unable to move anything and the event had to be cancelled. However, undaunted, the exhibition was later held at a London hotel in the presence of the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea who spoke eloquently about steadfastness in the face of terrorism.
2007 saw our largest competition so far, 'Creative
Cities, Creative World', which celebrated the great cultural diversity
of RSVP volunteers. The exhibition of winning entries was held in September
at the Guildhall in London. For more about the latest competion, see
our News and Events page.
