37th Annual Painting Competition Winners
The Gibraltar Heritage Trust held its 37th Annual Painting Competition on Saturday 9th May and is pleased to announce the winners. We were delighted to see many new artists join the competition as well as the return of many familiar faces. Participants had the opportunity to paint a view or an element of the exterior or interior of the WWII Tunnels, a historic site in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.
The Trust are celebrating our 37th Anniversary of the painting competition since it began in 1990. It has been wonderful to see the competition grow over the years with an enthusiasm from local artists and the public to immerse themselves in our heritage through the medium of art, whilst also raising awareness of its significance to our community and the need to protect, promote and preserve it.
The artworks created are of the highest quality and calibre and as always proved extremely difficult for our judges to deliberate. There are four categories of winners: Infants (aged 6 & under), Children (aged between 7 & 10), Juniors (aged 11 to 17) and Adults (18 & over).
All entries were painted live on location between 09:00am and 17:00pm. School entries from St. Bernard’s Lower Primary School were completed in the week leading up to the main event.
The Trust would like to thank the judges Paul Passano, the 36th Annual Painting Competition winner, and Bayside art teacher, Patrizia Imossi.
Below are the results and prizes for this year’s winners.
The first prize of £1,000.00 (One Thousand Pounds Sterling) in the Adult category.
The first prize of £250.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds Sterling) in the Junior category, with a shield in memory of William Serfaty, was sponsored by the Gibraltar Rotary Club.
An Additional prize this year of £500.00 (Five Hundred Pounds Sterling) was sponsored by Wright Tech Media, in collaboration for hosting the event at The Tunnels.
The winners in each category are:
Infant (aged 6 and under)
1st Prize: Mikaela Lau
2nd Prize: Cillian Mason-Ogilvie
3rd Prize: Naiara Sousa Gomez
Highly Commended: Sara El Badoui, Eleanor Beattie, Rayne Torres
Children (7-10)
1st Prize: Ethan Cornelio
2nd Prize: Aisha Fasano
3rd Prize: Paula Alumbreros
Highly Commended: Adara Lafkini, Lucia Sanchez Montes, Leire Bolaños
Junior (11-17)
1st Prize: Charlotte Seed
2nd Prize: Devon Mumford
3rd Prize: Josie Yome
Highly Commended: Celine Sheriff, Harriet Caulfield, Evan Puyol
Adult (18 and over)
1st Prize: Christine McNally
2nd Prize: Sebastian Rodriguez
3rd Prize: Kyrane Lia
Highly Commended: Kathleen Victory, Christopher Zammit, Wanda Bush
Sponsored Prizes:
William Serfaty Shield: Charlotte Seed
David Gladstone Prize for 'Most Promising Artist': Charlotte Seed
Wright Tech Media Award: Stella Bosano
The prizes were presented by Minister for Heritage, The Hon Dr. John Cortes and Vice Chairman of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust, Tommy Smith, at the exhibition opening on 21st May.
All entries are on display in the GEMA Art Gallery as from Thursday 21st May to Friday 12th June. Entrance to the gallery is free and the opening times are as follows:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 11am to 3pm
Tuesday and Thursday: 11am to 6pm
Closed weekends EXCEPT Saturday 30th May.
Adult 1st Prize: Christine McNally
Adult 2nd Prize: Sebastian Rodriguez
Adult 3rd Prize: Kyrane Lia
Adult category
Junior category
Children category
Infant category
Published: 22nd May 2026