A year 11 student at St Andrews Christian School in Grafton, Taylah Bradford 16, has entered this year’s Young Archibald Art Prize competition, at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney. The competition which has been running for five years, this year attracted over 2000 entries. The topic for this year’s ‘Young Archie Competition’ was, ‘Portrait of a person who is special to you – someone who is known to you and plays a significant role in your life.’ Taylah said that for her subject in the competition she chose her cousin and although she didn’t secure a place in the finals, it was a great experience. “I entered to try and get my art out there,” Taylah said. “I enjoy experimenting with different media and subjects.” Taylah said that she didn’t start drawing until the age of 13. “Once I started, I really took to it,” she said. “My dream would be to become a visual artist.” Taylah’s Visual Arts teacher Cathy Irons said that besides her art, Taylah is also good at both science and maths and looking at the possibilities of maybe taking on double degrees at university, in the future. “There’s a possibility of Taylah doing both science and art,” Ms Irons said. “She’s capable of doing both, but it’s a lot of work. “Maybe she could start off with science and keep doing her art on the side, to get her name out there. Art is a good thing to relax with.” Taylah said that her teacher has been very encouraging and given her lots of good advice and ideas. Taylah is looking forward to continuing on with her art projects and entering more Archibald Prize competitions in the future.