Two Shrewsbury schoolchildren, Josie and Pippa, both aged 9, celebrated an incredible joint win in the Shrewsbury Town Flag competition last weekend. 

The competition follows two free drop-in workshops, organised by Shrewsbury Arts Trail and supported by Shrewsbury BID and Shrewsbury Town Council, which offered children aged 4-12 the opportunity to create vibrant, flower-themed artworks inspired by the gardens and blooms of Shropshire.  

More than 140 entries from the workshops were judged by Jess Richards, founder of the Arts Trail; Owen Johnson, of Write Here; Max Ball, Shrewsbury Town Council; and EJ Hopson-VandenBos, Shrewsbury BID. 

“Josie and Pippa both did such a wonderful job that, when we’d narrowed it down to the final two artworks in the competition, we just couldn’t choose between them. So we opted for a joint win!” said Jess Richards. “Well done to both of the winners and to all of the entrants – the standard was really high and we’re glad to have been able to select so many to be displayed above the High Street.” 

Both winners received a special selection of top-quality art supplies from Write Here, Shrewsbury High St, to encourage them to continue their creative pursuits. 

Owen Johnson, who also put together the prize bundles, said, “It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to be a judge in this year’s competition. There were so many fantastic entries, so Josie and Pippa have done amazingly well here! Write Here were delighted to support and we hope the prizes will inspire them to continue their fantastic work.” 

EJ Hopson-VandenBos, Communications and Engagement Lead, Shrewsbury BID, added, “Every year we really look forward to seeing the High Street Flags go on display – they never fail to bring a bright, sunny vibe to the street. It was a pleasure to work with Shrewsbury’s very talented young artists to celebrate the flowers of Shropshire and bring a different kind of floral display to the town centre! Congratulations to Josie and Pippa and happy creating in future.” 

Josie and Pippa’s floral flag designs will be displayed above Shrewsbury High Street until the end of summer, alongside 40+ further artworks created during the Arts Trail’s free flower collage workshops.  

The originals are also on display in an exhibition at Greenhous, 27 Pride Hill, as part of Shrewsbury Arts Trail. 

shrewsburyartstrail.com