On Monday 23 January U6 pupil Polina represented LEH at a regional Articulation heat held at the Courtauld Institute of Art. The annual Articulation Prize is the National Gallery’s nationwide public speaking competition initiative for young people aged between 16 and 19, designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of visual culture. Each of the 10 candidates at the event was the winner of their internal school heat and was invited to deliver a 10-minute presentation of a work of art, architecture, or artefact of their choice in front of an audience and adjudicator (Dr Klara Kemp-Welch, Reader in 20^th Century Modernism at the Courtauld).

Polina had selected Aragats (1925) by Martiros Sarian and communicated confidently about stylistic and symbolic registers in the work. Dr. Klara Kemp-Welch applauded Polina for choosing to talk about an important work of art that explores the experience and impact of a humanitarian tragedy, the Armenian Genocide during World War I, adding that Polina's choice of work reminds us that not all works of art that engage directly with urgent issues need necessarily to look dramatic. Dr Kemp-Welch added how she hoped that, following Polina's presentation, we would all remember to see beyond what is presented to us; she stated that everything had many different layers to be excavated and that Polina had done this excavation skillfully and sensitively. While not among the two selected to progress in the competition, Polina has evolved useful and impressive skills in research and presentation – well done Polina and all those who took part in the LEH Heat!