Artists of all ages could win prizes of up to £1,000 in a county-wide competition.


The Dorset Art Prize, sponsored by Dorset Community Foundation and Poole Museum, is run by the art and design department of Bournemouth and Poole College. Its aim is to encourage artists across the community. This year’s theme in the free to enter competition is narrative. Entries, which are open to any Dorset resident, can be in any medium including paintings, sculpture, film, animation or textiles.

The competition is divided into age categories, with top prizes of £750 for primary school Years 3 to 6 and secondary school Years 7 to 9, Years 10 and 11 and Years 12 and 13. There is a £1,000 prize for over 19s. There are also £500 and £250 runner-up prizes.

College principal Diane Grannell said: “We received lots of feedback from last year’s entrants explaining that the art prize gave them something positive to focus on at such a difficult time. We are proud to be bringing the awards back this year as we continue to champion the wealth of Dorset’s talent.”

Dorset Community Foundation Director Grant Robson said he was proud the foundation has been involved with the event since its launch in 2014: “This is a fantastic platform for artists to express some of the amazing talent we have here in Dorset and I am sure this is a year that will have provided no end of inspiration. It has been very hard for all kinds of reasons but the incredible efforts we have witnessed while awarding £1.2 million of grants to help grass roots groups tackle hunger, anxiety, loneliness and isolation has shown us that there is amazing community spirit here. I am looking forward to seeing what is produced and good luck to everyone entering.”

Shortlisted entries will be displayed at Poole Museum in November and winners will be notified by September 28. Entry details can be found at thecollege.co.uk/dorset-art-prize. For details of how to donate to the Dorset Community Coronavirus Fund, go to dorsetcommunityfoundation.org.

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