Flash fiction competition launches for young women nationwide

The competition invites students to write up to 250 words about the famous Dame Paula Rego painting, Ines de Castro, which was created in 2013 to mark Rego’s admission as an Honorary Fellow at the College. The painting is part of The Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards, the largest collection of art by women in Europe. 

The fictional entries can be based on the historical facts of the painting, the myth, or writers can let their imaginations run riot and be inspired by the artwork. Judges are looking to reward intense, exciting and original prose, inspired by the visual arts.

Submissions will be judged by screenwriter and novelist Daisy Goodwin, BBC Culture Editor Katie Razzall and Dr Leo Mellor, English Fellow at Murray Edwards College.

Daisy Goodwin said: “Murray Edwards has the biggest and most exciting collection of art by women in Europe. It’s such a great place to study and I hope this prize will inspire young women to come and look at the art and the college."

Katie Razzell said: "As a child, Paula Rego loved being told stories. As an artist, each of her works tells a story, perhaps none more so than her haunting and macabre portrait of Ines de Castro. Rego's art reflects the human condition in all its tenderness and beauty, cruelty and suffering. I'm looking forward to reading the competition stories inspired by this wonderful painting."

There are three categories young women can enter:

• Young women who are currently studying (as either undergraduates or postgraduates) at the University of Cambridge. The winner of this category will win £500.
• Young women in Years 12 and 13 currently studying A Levels or any other academic qualifications in a state-maintained school or college in the UK. In this category the prizes will be in book vouchers; the winner receiving £100, and the three runners-up will receive £50 each.
• Young female students in Years 7 to 11 currently studying in a state-maintained school or college in the UK. In this category the prizes will be in book vouchers; the winner receiving £100, and the three runners-up will receive £50 each. 

President of Murray Edwards College, Dorothy Byrne said: "The Women’s Art Collection inspires our students every day. It’s great to live alongside an art collection with hundreds of pictures all around us. This picture is one of the most popular; beautiful and bizarre."

Full details on how to enter, as well as Terms & Conditions, can be found on the Murray Edwards College website.

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The Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College is Europe’s largest collection of art by women. It includes 600 works by leading artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Paula Rego, Lubaina Himid, Faith Ringgold, Tracey Emin and Cindy Sherman.

Founded in the early 1990s, the Collection challenges the underrepresentation of women artists in museums and galleries. It is displayed throughout Murray Edwards College, an iconic Brutalist building designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon as a manifesto for women’s education. Works of art are hung in public rooms and student corridors and sculptures are part of the College’s natural gardens. In 2018, the Collection was granted Museum Accreditation by Arts Council England.

Today, the College continues to celebrate and support women artists, staging two exhibitions a year, alongside a programme of events including talks, tours, workshops, screenings and performances.

The Collection is open to the public daily from 10am–6pm and is free to visit.