10-year-old schoolgirl from Sale sees her painting go on display alongside the famous LS Lowry work of art that inspired it.

A pupil from St Mary’s CE Primary School in Sale has been selected from hundreds of entries as the winner of The Lowry’s annual Copley Prize. 10-year-old Sophia Kidane was welcomed to The Lowry on Wednesday 20th September with her proud family and Art Teacher to see her painting hung in the LS Lowry Galleries, where it will remain on display for the next year, alongside the famous work it was inspired by.

Joy Ball, Sophia’s Art Teacher said: “The whole school community are extremely proud of Sophia and her achievement in winning the Copley Prize. It is well deserved for someone who has shown great attitude and creativity in her work and is an inspiration to those around her.”

Sophia’s work was chosen as this year’s overall winner by Alison and Noel Copley, who founded the competition as an exciting way to encourage primary-aged children to develop their creativity and artistic ability. The prize invites children to recreate their own modern-day versions of LS Lowry’s work, in ways that represent the world that they live in, and often capturing images of the environment around them, just as Lowry did.

Sophia was inspired to create her work by Father and Two Sons, one of LS Lowry’s most famous portraits.

Sophia said “I created my work using student-grade watercolours and graphite pencil for the sketch. I chose this piece especially because I loved the stark contrast between the shadows and the highlights on his face. I chose to represent his picture with a more childlike expression, that was a little more gentle. I didn’t think much of it at first. But when my Dad first saw the artwork a few months back he was very impressed. I never imagined having my work in an art gallery like The Lowry and, honestly it has been an amazing experience so far.”

Claire Stewart, Curator, The Lowry Collection at The Lowry said “It’s always a pleasure to see how the entries for the Copley Prize have been inspired by LS Lowry’s work. The pictures submitted over the last ten years have been so creative and varied. Every year I really look forward to seeing the winning entry go on display in the Galleries and it is fantastic to see Sophia’s wonderful painting hung alongside the work it was inspired by.”

Alison Copley said: “Noel and I are so proud of the Copley Prize and how it has evolved. Every year it has become bigger and bigger, and it is fantastic to see what the team at The Lowry have created.  We are now looking forward to the next decade of the Copley Prize. Well done Sophia”

Since 2013, The Copley Prize has received over 3,500 entries and showcased the work of ten talented young artists in The Lowry Galleries. Any primary school-aged children (Key Stage 1 & 2) can submit their work now for the 2024 Copley Prize.   Find out more at thelowry.com/get-creative/thecopleyprize/

In 2018 The Lowry additionally launched The Copley Schools Outreach programme that delivers free high-quality visual arts workshops to schools across Salford.  And in 2023, thanks to the continued generosity of Alison and Noel Copley, The Lowry extended its support to schools under a new umbrella of ‘The Copley Children’s Creative Arts Programme’ that combines Performing Arts and Health & Wellbeing as well as Visual Arts.

Coinciding with the unveiling of Sophia’s work in the Galleries a display of works by this year’s runners-up are also on display in The Copley Cases.

The Lowry Galleries are open six days a week. (Tues-Fri, 11am-5pm and Sat-Sun, 10am-5pm). Admittance is free but donations are welcome.

The Lowry Galleries are named The Andrew and Zoe Law Galleries in recognition of the couple’s £1m donation to the arts centre, which is a registered charity.