Beyond Boundaries 2023 art competition opens for entries from local school students


Wednesday 22nd Mar 2023, 1.42pm

A science-inspired competition inviting entrants to create an artistic response to Oxford research is back for a third year, and state school students across Oxfordshire are being encouraged to enter for a chance to win cash prizes and see their work displayed in an exhibition.

Launched in 2018, Beyond Boundaries is a bi-annual art competition run by the University of Oxford, which aims to inspire young people while highlighting the work of Oxford scientists and mathematicians from Black, Asian and Minority-Ethnic backgrounds.

Students from Years 5-6 (primary) and Years 7-8 (secondary) can enter and are asked to choose one of six scientists then create an artistic response to their research. Entries can include painting, drawing, sculpture, animation, dance, poetry or any other artistic medium along with a short statement explaining the artwork.

Beyond Boundaries is all about encouraging school children to engage with science and art in fun and creative ways

Daisy Hung

Winners and runners-up will win cash prizes for themselves and their schools, and will be invited to a private awards ceremony.

They will also have the chance to see their artwork exhibited amongst the dinosaurs at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in late June 2023, and displayed on the Oxford Sparks website.

Daisy Hung, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at Oxford University said: ‘Beyond Boundaries is all about encouraging school children to engage with science and art in fun and creative ways. It’s also helping us to strengthen our existing connections with local communities and schools and attract more families into the University’s spaces to see the amazing pieces of art that entrants produce.

‘This is the first year we’ve extended our researcher profiles to cover representatives from the medical sciences at Oxford, as well as the mathematical, physical and life sciences, and we can’t wait to see what the students come up with this year.’

Grid image containing head and shoulders photos of the six researchers entrants can choose from and winning artwork from previous yearsThe six Oxford researchers and some of the winning artwork from previous years

The scientists

School students are invited to produce artwork inspired by one of these six Oxford researchers from the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) and Medical Sciences (MSD) Divisions:

  • Chy Akpulu - DPhil student, Department of Biology, MPLS (Linacre College) 
  • Zhiyao Luo - DPhil student, Department of Engineering Science, MPLS (Reubens College) 
  • Morgan Mitchell - DPhil student, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (Reubens College) 
  • Misha Patel - DPhil student, Department of Engineering Science, MPLS (St Catherine’s College) 
  • Lauren Rudd - DPhil student, Department of Biology, MPLS (Green Templeton College) 
  • Sushma Shankar - Clinical Lecturer, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, MSD 

Misha Patel said: ‘The Beyond Boundaries competition is a great way to celebrate the connection between art and science and maintain community ties between the University and schools in Oxfordshire. I’m excited to see how the students interpret our research and what artwork that inspires.’

Winners and runners-up (and school representatives) will be invited to a private awards ceremony and visit to the exhibition, to help celebrate their success. 

The entry deadline is Friday 28 April 2023. 

Full details of how to take part, competition T&Cs, and links to winning artwork from previous years can be found on the Oxford Sparks website here: www.oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk/beyond-boundaries/