Schoolchildren took part in an art competition in the heart of Hamilton yesterday with the chance to have their work seen by thousands of passers-by.The competition saw 100 youngsters gather at Albuoy’s Point in Hamilton to paint murals with the theme of “My Bermuda”.The winners will get a $5,000 award and have their work installed next to Point House, the former HSBC building on Front Street now being renovated by owners the Green family, for 18 months.Amaya Smith, a pupil at the Whitney Institute Middle School in Smith’s, said that her school wanted to feature the traditional icons of Bermudian culture like Gombeys and the moongate.The 13-year-old explained: “A lot of people get to see different things that they never knew about Bermuda.”Amaya said that her job in the group was to paint the moongate that took up much of the mural.She added that her contribution to the painting was good practice for the career path she wanted to follow.Amaya explained: “I actually want to be an art teacher and I thought that if I did this, it would help me better my skills and help others learn more about Bermuda.”The competition, for youngsters aged 11 to 13, was organised by the Bermuda National Gallery and the Greens.Kumani Jackson, a 13-year-old pupil at Saltus Grammar School in Pembroke, said that her team opted to make a collage of their interpretations of Bermuda.She added that the artwork was designed to look like a profile on Instagram.Kumani said: “We’ve got two birds happening, we have some architecture and then there’s some floral pictures.”“I’m doing a cricket bat and a ball and I’m putting Bermudian phrases around it as well.”The Bermuda Institute, in Southampton, opted to show hurricane damage with their mural with the caption “Keep calm through all storms”.13-year-old Elisha Edwards, who came up with the idea, said: “I knew a lot of schools would want to do things that are common to Bermuda, so I wanted to make our piece more unique and different.”She added that the slogan was also a reference to the need to end racism on the island, which was symbolised by a black man and a white man sharing a meal.Elisha said: “I wanted to say that through all storms we can all come together as a family and as a community.”Peter Lapsley, the executive director of BNG, said: “The opportunity for public art, but also engaging young people in the practice of making art, is really important.“It teaches problem-solving skills and creative problem-solving, which I think is one of the great benefits of thinking about things in a creative fashion and the arts promote that.”A spokeswoman for the Green family said that every school that entered the competition was given $1,000.She added that the school who placed second would win $3000 and the third prize was $2000.