FAI Young Artists Contest Winners 2022: ‘Design your perfect aircraft’
The imaginations of this year’s entrants to the 2022 FAI Young Artists Contest were inspired by the wonders of nature and human innovation to create a vision of something they would like to see in the sky, and the winners are listed below.
Young artists for the 2022 competition were asked to design their 'perfect aircraft’ and consider what would power it, would it be big or small, and what special features would make pilots and passengers excited to be in the air.
Ami Chiba's beautifully simple idea won silver in the intermediate category
A total of nine countries – China, India, Latvia, USA, Japan, Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Switzerland – put forward works from their respective national competitions, and winners this year include another outstanding entry from Japan’s Haruto Hirayama, who won a gold medal in the Junior category, after also winning a gold in 2021. Regular participant Milena Bak from Poland was awarded a bronze medal this year, following her bronze and silver medals in previous competitions. Michelle Lee from the USA took gold in the intermediate category whilst another entrant from Japan – Ruka Oji – was awarded gold amongst the senior artists.
2022 FAI Young Artists Contest Winners
Group I - Junior Category
- Haruto HIRAYAMA - JPN
- Yichen LIU - CHN
- Yitong HOU - CHN
Group II - Intermediate Category
- Michelle LEE - USA
- Ami CHIBA - JPN
- Milena BAK - POL
Group III - Senior Category
- Ruka OJI - JPN
- Beatrice MACENAITE - LIT
- Bartosz BAK - POL
The three age categories for the 2022 competition were:
Group I - Junior Category (Date of birth between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2015).
Group II - Intermediate Category (Date of birth between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2011).
Group III - Senior Category (Date of birth between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2007)
Yichen Liu conjured up these wonderful flying carrots to win a silver in the juniors
2022 Theme
Have you ever drawn a picture of an airplane, helicopter, or hot air balloon and added some extra details? Maybe, you started drawing a glider and ended up with a super-powered jet that could take you, your favorite pet, and your friends into space. Maybe you mixed and matched, combining the best features of different types of aircraft to create something unique. Every great aviation idea starts in the imagination of a person who wants to see something new in the sky. Drawing from aviation’s past, these visionaries create aviation’s future.
Today’s aircraft are the work of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people who turn ideas into aircraft that fly. Engineers put ideas onto paper. Manufacturers turn those drawings into real-life parts that get put together and become today’s balloons, gliders, aerobatic planes, microlights, and helicopters. Each new version is improved for safety, aerodynamics, fuel efficiency, or a thousand other major and minor changes that put smiles on the faces of pilots and passengers alike.
What is your perfect aircraft? What would power it through the sky? Would it be big or small? What special features would make pilots and passengers excited to be in the air? Every craft you see in the sky today started with similar questions. Each idea has the chance to change the way gliders soar, helicopters hover, and aerobatic racers twist and swoop through the sky. You might have an idea to change the way hang-gliders look as they sail through the air or improve the controls of today’s modern cockpits.
If you have ever looked up into the sky and thought, wouldn’t it be great if…this art challenge is for you! Let your imagination soar and create a work of art that fits the theme, “Design your perfect aircraft.” Grab your favorite pens, paints, or crayons and share your vision of the perfect aircraft. Your art today might become an inspiration for tomorrow’s aviation reality.
Harnessing natural energy - Bartosz Bak's vision of a perfect aircraft won bronze in the senior category
