The pandemic is having a devastating effect and is likely to have a lasting impact in years to come, both with negative and positive consequences. One of the many hard-hit areas is education. Time will tell what the impact will be on children and young people who have not been able to socialise.

My heart goes out to those students that have come to a major milestone marking the end of their school education and a degree; years of preparation only to end on a flat note. For many, the end of year celebration, be it by a degree show, end of year show or a party, brings closure and is a right of passage. It signals one door closing and hopefully, many others opening for them.

I made the difficult decision to cancel the Kellie Miller Art Awards for 2020, which would have been in its fifth year. My intension is to shine the spotlight on outstanding students from local schools and universities, with the idea to inspire them to follow creative paths throughout their lives. I hope that many will enjoy the arts, be it as a career, by embracing creative activities, or by supporting the arts, now and in the future.

I strongly believe in the value of teaching creativity to young people, which is why I founded the awards. I want to encourage schools and parents who recognise this fundamental life skill and who endorse this by delivering creativity and art throughout a child's schooling, starting in the early years through to A levels. It has become apparent to me that, during lockdown, the arts and creativity have remerged to occupy many people's time, further highlighting the importance of them.

I am proud of the schools, colleges and university involved so far, including Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Varndean College, Roedean School and The University of Brighton.

Although the awards are cancelled for this year, I want to acknowledge the student's hard work, resilience, creativity and ingenuity in creating their artworks for examination under such difficult circumstances. It through these times, we are tested, and this is how real innovation can be born. I decided to write this blog with this in mind.

I would also like to honour all the teachers and lecturers who have had to adapt, lead and guide students during these very challenging times. I look forward to seeing all of the virtual exhibitions when they are ready.

The following students are nominated, by their tutors, not only because of the amazing works produced, but because they have pushed through against all of their adversities, experimented and kept creating no matter what.

Here is what they and I have to say about their art…

Tala Lindstrom from Varndean College

Most of us spend about a third of our day sleeping with very little knowledge to why we spend as much time resting as we do working. Tala Lindstrom is depicting images of sleep; she firstly took a step to paint a large canvas called 'Papa Sleeping'. She had seen her father asleep and decided that this dramatic closeup, with open mouth and curled fingers, would be a powerful image. Keeping to a large format, she moved onto painting her friend Mia sleeping.

Tala has achieved her results through observation and by taking her time to produce her art. Each step of the way has been an introduction to the next stage, by weighing up each technical and creative decision as she has gone along. Her methodical approach means she has a template and an understanding of how she best likes to work and is an indication of what type of artist she is likely to be.

Kat Swan from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Degree

Kat's tutors say she is an 'outstanding student'. Before she took her A-Levels, she suffered a brain injury and was in a coma for several months. At first, she was barely able to walk or talk, but despite this, she went on to undertake the five years part-time BA Fine Art. Kat is now more independent and is about to graduate.

Her paintings are abstract acrylic on canvas are impressive, mostly large paintings. They remind me of artist Brian Rice, particularly his paintings and hybrid works. The community of repeated circle-like shapes she creates, give her pieces life; the idea of cells duplicating to become something more. She has shown how determined she is to succeed, by mounting an exhibition in Greece, where her family spend their summers.

Samual Langridge from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Diploma

Samuel is a 3D animator on the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Digital Media Arts who has consistently worked exceptionally hard to produce work of an extremely high standard. Even with the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, Sam has maintained his motivation and enthusiasm for his Final Major Project; creating a highly polished and professional piece of work. Sam battles on through all obstacles and his determination and passion for his specialism are unrivalled. It is for his dedication that his tutors felt he deserved the praise and acknowledgement associated with this nomination.

You can view Samuel's witty and humorous animation here

Remi Douglas from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Diploma

Remi is an unassuming, diligent individual who has consistently excelled in her creative abilities. She is an incredibly modest and outstanding talent; it is with these reasons, she deserves the acknowledgement, recognition, and praise associated with an award nomination.

Remi's works focuses on media and communication. I am taken by her piece entitled 'Body Image', where she is challenging how modern and social media bombards us with images of idealised bodies and notions of perceived beauty. She illustrates this message by creating a powerful image of a dismembered mannequin type of female figure.

Milly Aburrow from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Diploma

It takes more than talent to succeed. Milly was nominated not only because she is talented, but together with her consistent passion, she has come up with a style that is unique and engaging. Looking at Milly's work, there is a Salvador Dali dreamlike quality, echoing throughout her pieces. The themes within her works are creation, fertility, the cycle of life and death. She presents this by using symbols like the sun, moon, women, skeletons, the hands that create and communicate.

Aislin Boxall from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Diploma

Aislin explores the use of functional objects, recycling and manipulation to create 3-dimensional sculptures. Having limited resources available throughout lockdown, she has created engaging, undulating shapes and forms out of plastic bottles, resin, polyurethane and moulded fabric. Aislin has been adventurous in her approach and developed new skills to produce her final pieces. By adopting an open and experimental approach to creativity, Aislin finds new ways of working, channelling this to produce exciting new products.

Mia Casati from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, Diploma

From the beginning of the course, Mia has consistently pushed herself; taken risks, explored and experimented. Through hard work and application, she has come up with an individual manner of working. The works produced are mixed media pieces that are inspired by nature, texture and fashion.

I believe to succeed in anything in life; there needs a balance of many things; skill, talent, application, ideas, adaptability and hard work. It is clear to me that Mia can make a success of anything she puts her mind too.

Shan Low from Roedean

Shan's creation showcases the beautiful, subtle balance of the delicate forces between objects and nature. The paper clay petals mimic delicate forms of jellyfish and naturally curled dried leaves as shown by the intricately painted lines. Natural fibrous coir string wraps the branches with hanging petals, reflecting the strength of nature while the wind gently brushes by. Her art structure is a dreamy vision of movement; spinning and swaying delicately with nature. Her mixed media kinetic sculpture combines many influences and reminds me of Andy Goldsworthy's art.

Eris Kennish from Roedean

Eris has put forward two pieces for selection. She is fascinated by this battle between self-repression to please spectators and the irrepressibility of authentic identity. The painting shown at the top of the blog is a narrative based on El Público, a Federico Garcia Lorca play. Throughout the dreamlike acts, characters undergo metamorphoses that explore the concept of authenticity in self and gender representation.

Lockdown has been the hardest time in her life. She battled with serious family issues, mental health and loneliness. This self-portrait is an affirmation to herself of the value of living each day, as herself, with patience and compassion. The piece is oil on copper etching plate; where the copper is left visible, the painting reflects like a mirror, materials perfectly selected to represent how she is feeling.

Kelly Chen from Roedean

Kelly's work represents the sky and the ocean, researching various materials to produce her pieces. She has entitled her work 'Blue'; a colour has associated with sadness and the sea. She is influenced by American artist Sheila Hicks, who is renown for her experimental weavings and sculptural textile art. Hick's pieces employ distinctive colours, natural materials, and personal narratives. Hick's career started as a painter and said: "I'm working very hard to make things that are dignified but joyful."

Working joyfully is also an important aspect of the art that Kelly produces. She uses four techniques: knitting, crochet, weaving, and knotting. For her, each piece is telling a different story.

Amirah Mehdi from Roedean

Amirah has combined her still-life painting with geometric grids, inspired by British artist, David Bomberg, looking specifically at his paintings entitled 'In the Hold' and 'Ju-Jitsu'. Her personal and unique approach is to combine an abstract backdrop with elements from Vanitas movement, creating art portraying the futility of pleasure, the certainty of death and contrasting this with objects that represent wealth. In Amirah's case, her still-life features deceased animals and other food. Her gouache painting presents death and future decay in a non-fearful way.