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This Christmas season, Apple had a great idea. The tech giant hosted the “Your Tree on Battersea” competition, which looks for public creativity on iPad. Following the end of the event, from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day until 24 December, the 24 winning submissions will be projected onto Battersea Power Station, alongside trees drawn by established artists and notable figures such as Kylie Minogue, Sir Stephen Fry, Maro Itoje, Oliver Jeffers, David Shrigley OBE, and Munya Chawawa (the host of the competition).
“Hosting Apple’s first-ever iPad Christmas tree competition is a full-circle moment for me,” said Chawawa. “As a kid, I spent every weekend going into the store and filling up an iPad with photos of my forehead, so to now be leading Your Tree on Battersea is very special. I love that we’re assembling the nation to create Christmas trees on iPad and lighting them up across the greatest city in the world.”
“I’m so excited to be selected in this competition,” said Varsha Simha, who hails from Canterbury. “I was inspired by the sweaters, stockings, and all the warm things at the Christmas market in the coldest of months. I started by drawing fuzzy little minions and went on to add warm highlights, Christmas hats, and glowing stars. I haven’t celebrated Christmas as part of my culture before, but the idea of gifts, lights, and snow excited me. This competition was a way for me to be part of the festive atmosphere.”
“I’m so happy to be selected,” said Miah D.B., a 7-year-old winner. “I made this tree on iPad because I love drawing on my iPad, and I was inspired by emotions.”
This competition carries on Apple’s tradition of celebrating festive creativity and is the first time the company has opened the opportunity to the public. In 2023, artist David Hockney created “Bigger Christmas Trees” on iPad Pro, and last year, Aardman (creator of Wallace & Gromit) used iPhone 16 Pro Max to create a short animation. Both installations transformed the iconic 101-metre-high chimneys and wash towers that soar above the River Thames.
