Gallery

Ik Oankaar Art Contest:
A Bouquet of Creations

sikhchic.com

We at sikhchic.com are elated by the quantity and quality of the entries to the Ik Oankaar Art Contest.

We have received a total of 32 submissions from four different continents. Each is of an impressive quality: so much so that the judges felt they couldn't possibly miss the mark if they cheated and blindly chose any one at random as the winner.

But, of course, they didn't do that.

It's therefore been a tough task selecting a single winner, albeit a most pleasurable one.

We have weighed each entry on a number of criteria, including: originality and innovation; aesthetics; ability to understand, interpret and convey the meaning and import of Ik Oankaar as the quintessence of Sikhi; technical skills; and the ability to capture the timelessness of the symbol. sikhchic.com hereby announces with immense pleasure the winner of The Ik Oankaar Art Contest:

Karan Sher Singh of Ontario, Canada.

He wins a round-trip, Toronto-Amritsar air ticket and a week's luxury accomodation in Amritsar.

A total of 32 artistic interpretations of Ik Oankaar were considered as part of the contest. Additional entries were received from artists who merely wished to inspire the contestants through their creations; their designs were not part of the competition, even though they are being displayed herein on the Gallery.

The entries were carefully reviewed by a committee consisting of Dr. Birinder Singh Ahluwalia, Michele Gibson, Jaipreet Singh and T. Sher Singh.

The criteria, the terms and conditions, and details of the prize are set out at

Once again, the entries were of a very high quality - many of them, even inspired! - with the ideas behind them obviously thought-out carefully and applied with great skill and creativity.

We hope that this project will encourage our readers on an ongoing basis to look at the meanings and symbolism behind our icons and symbols, in turn leading them to a greater understanding of Sikhi itself.

We wish to thank all who have joined hands with us to make this project such a great success - the entrants themselves, of course, and the parents and teachers of the minor contestants; our readers who have freely and generously given us regular and valuable feedback and critiques, as well as much-needed encouragement; and all friends and supporters of sikhchic.com who have helped publicize this project.

We are also grateful to our judges for their time and insight - it was not an easy task, choosing from a wealth of talent; and our wonderful and generous "resident" artists.

Please do click below to view our Gallery of Ik Oankaars - starting with the creations of our "resident" offerings by Canadian artist Jaipreet Singh, T. Sher Singh and Ray Huerta.

Following them are the offerings of the contestants, beginning with the winning submission by Karan Sher Singh, followed by the others in alphabetical order of the artists' names. Each entry is accompanied by, wherever available, the textual explanation behind the concept, as submitted by the artist.

[More contests? ... soon!] 

Enjoy!