Publications
Partners
“Follow your creative passion and always be on the lookout for potential platforms that can provide stepping stones that will assist you in guiding your professional path,” says Michael Beckurts.
This matric learner at Bishops Diocesan College in Rondebosch is eagerly looking forward to pursue his passion at Cape Town Creative Academy (CTCA) in Woodstock after winning the 2018 Young Creatives Awards.
His drawing, “The Aftermath”, which he did during the December 2017 holidays, saw him walking away with a bursary to the value of R30 000 that will allow him to study Communication Design.
The winners were announced in August, and he says he cannot wait to reap the rewards of his creativity.
He was visiting his grandparents in the Elandskraal district six months after the area had been ravaged by a fire, when he decided to do his award-winning drawing.
Explaining his inspiration, Michael says: “My grandparents had a harrowing experience and a narrow escape from the flames that surrounded their house. If you were to sit on this empty deck chair you would see encouraging signs of revival in nature, patches of green regrowth and the occasional wild flower. This shows the power of nature and the strength of the human spirit and it brings me hope.”
Although Michael is wheelchair bound, he chases his dreams at a higher speed than most, and he could not wait until after finishing school to decide what he wanted to do and where.
He entered the competition in the hopes of using the opportunity to open doors to a brighter future.
“I was delighted to win the 2018 Young Creatives Award from the CTCA. I’m really looking forward to studying Communication Design next year. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to pursue my passion for art, to study towards a career in the creative and design industry, as [the Academy] is an innovative [institution], offering a diverse selection of course programmes.”
Michael says the artwork he submitted for the competition means a lot to him, which makes it more rewarding.
“My dream one day is to become a professional artist, exhibitor or illustrator. I have always loved art, and growing up, it was one of my favourite subjects at school. My passion for drawing has allowed me to create artistic pieces, including a range of detailed botanical artworks, and a series of landscape drawings during a school trip I went on, which developed into producing greeting cards to sell and raise funds for an under-resourced school in the Cedarberg,” he says.
Michael believes that what made him shine at the competition was his observational ability and interpretation of the
subject matter.
