Both the exhibition and the competition, as their names suggest, are organised every year to commemorate the murdering of these children from Lidice. The exhibition is well-known among child creators and their teachers not only in our country but all over the world. Children from several dozens of countries from all continents participate in it through their works every year.

Peace is the basic premise of a happy and undisturbed life of children who need to feel safety, security and background. Thus, peace is the utmost happiness for them. That is why UNESCO recommended "happiness" as the leitmotif of this edition of our competition and exhibition.

The child works of fine art which were sent to us reflect the themes related to it: "I wish not only me but also others were happ...", "Who and what is happiness for me...", "How do I imagine a happy life...", "When do I feel happ...", "Happiness is .".

Like every year, the International Fine Arts Competition culminates in an exhibition of winning works. Its opening ceremony took place early in June 2005 in the Lidice Gallery in Lidice.

The exhibition will concurrently display children's paintings, drawings, graphic works, photographs, ceramic works, and works of combined techniques. This year's exhibition, mounted on the premises of the Lidice Gallery, presented works of fine art by children from 50 countries including our countr. Out of the total nearly 9,000 exhibits received, the Panel of Judges selected almost 1 300 exhibits for the purposes of the exhibition, out of which almost 600 works were foreign. 53 medals for exceptionally good works of fine art were sent abroad this year.

Works of fine art by children from Slovakia, India, Turkey, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Latvia have won most of them. Czech schools have acquired 46 medals this year. Children from the Most Primary Art School, the Strakonice Primary Art School, the Plzeň Primary Art School, and the Pelhřimov Primary Art School proved to be the most successful.

Like every year, most exhibits give a delightful impression thanks to their style and degree of elaboration. An evident particular inventiveness, creative contribution of a child or group of children are to be appreciated in the case of a number of works.

A very poor description of works notwithstanding our request for careful descriptions with all the appropriate data included in every invitation to the following edition of the competition, are unpleasant facts, yet facts reoccurring each year. Hence, numerous works are excluded from the evaluation every year, although they are good works of fine art.

Most Czech and foreign schools have been regular participants in our competition for years. We are glad to say that other schools are becoming such participants too.

We believe that visitors savoured and in many Czech and foreign galleries will yet savour some nice and interesting moments while visiting the exhibition.

Iva Brothánková
Head of the Lidice Gallery
and Curator of the International
Children's Exhibition of Fine Arts Lidice