STUDENTS' FESTIVAL REVIEW 2008

Seen the art? Tell the world!

In partnership with The Age, Melbourne Festival invites school students to write about their experiences of the 2008 Melbourne International Arts Festival.

Critical review and engaged discussion are important elements of celebrating and developing the arts. This writing competition is a wonderful opportunity for students to give the rest of Melbourne their perspective on some of the world's most interesting, exciting and challenging art.

For the opportunity to win some great prizes, including having their review published in The Age Education liftout, students simply write a review of one (or more) of the works they see during the 2008 Festival.

Conditions for entry

1. Entry is open to Victorian secondary school students.
2. There is no entry fee.
3. All reviews to be sent to: 
      Education
      Melbourne International Arts Festival
      PO Box 10 Flinders Lane
      Melbourne VIC 8009
4. All reviews must be received by Friday 7 November 2008.
5. All reviews must be of 2008 Melbourne International Arts Festival events. A single review may address more than one Festival event, should the reviewer so choose.
6. There is no entry form, however reviewers must include the following with their review:
      Name of the Festival production(s) reviewed
      Name of reviewer
      School
      Year level
      Parent / guardian name and contact details (phone / email)
7. Reviews must be the work of an individual, not class or co-operative reviews.
8. There is no limit to the number of reviews from any school or any reviewer.
9. All reviews must be typed.
10. Reviews should be no more than 500 words. 

The event(s) need not be one(s) that the student unequivocally likes. What are sought are critical, insightful, enlightening reviews.

Judging 

1. Judging will be undertaken by a panel made up of one representative from Melbourne Festival, and an editorial staff member from The Age.
2. The judging panel will select one (1) winner and two (2) runners-up, whose reviews are considered by the panel to be the best three reviews received.
3. The decision of the judging panel is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
4. The winner will receive the following prizes:
      Melbourne Festival designer bag by Mattt Made in Melbourne 
      Sennheiser EH150 Headphones
      A selection of current novels (value $100)
5. The two runners-up will each receive the following prizes:
      Melbourne Festival pack (including poster, t-shirt and carry bag)
      A selection of current novels (value $50)
6. The prize winners will be notified by Friday 21 November 2008.
7. The winning review will be published in The Age Education lift-out on Monday 24 November 2008.
8. The two runners-up will be published at the discretion of The Age.