Painting Competition "Inspired by Nature"

Every year, second to fourth-grade children from Bonn, the surrounding region, and the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate explore nature using a sheet of paper and a brush. Children submit their works of art inspired by the annually changing theme of the painting competition. 13 of this pictures receive prizes and are published in our annual calendar, while the best 60 are exhibited at Museum Koenig.

Our foundation’s cooperation with Alexander-Koenig-Gesellschaft e.V. (AKG) in the painting competition marks the continuation of a long and successful collaboration under the youth program "Inspired by Nature". The exploration and preservation of nature is very important to us and to AKG. This is exactly what the children are encouraged to do in an artistic manner in this painting competition, which is organized as a joint initiative.

A total of 124 classes from 63 schools in Bonn and the surrounding region took part in the 2022 painting competition under the motto "Beetles, spiders, centipedes ­– creepy-crawlies with 6 legs and more" and sent in 2,259 works of art.

Project manager Dr. Leonie Grafweg particularly emphasized the many different painting techniques, which were applied with great sensitivity, and underlined the importance of cooperation among the children: "When looking through the pictures, you could tell that the children often communicated and inspired each other. In addition, there were some group works in which very different children created wonderful works of art together."

The theme of next year's painting competition is already set: "Colorful life in the roof of the rainforest".

The rainforest is the most diverse, colorful and exciting habitat in the world. A good half of all animal species live here, and many millions have not even been discovered yet.

Whether lianas, ferns, or orchids that grow together and entwine around each other, earthworms, small crabs, or butterflies bustling about in small pools on leaves filled with rainwater, or colorful parrots, tree snakes, or chameleons: The tropical rainforest offers the chance to explore plants and animals galore that all need each other to live.

Get excited about this wonder of the earth and let your imagination run wild as you draw the fascinating, colorful, dazzling life in the roof of the evergreen rainforest!

We are looking forward to it!

More details in our competition flyer.

Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation 
Project Manager Dr. Leonie Grafweg 
+49 (0)228-22744717 
leonie.grafweg(at)hans-riegel-stiftung.com