Could you be artist of the year winner?
Budding artists across Sunderland have the chance to shine and be crowned the region’s best, as a search is launched to find the North East’s next Banksy or Tracey Emin.
The awards, launched by build-to-rent developers Placefirst at its new Hetton development, offers artists of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to enter their artwork for a chance to win the prestigious title of North East Artist of the Year 2021.
In addition to the accolade, the winners across the three age categories will scoop up to £100 in art vouchers.
Entrants are invited to upload a photo of their favourite artistic creation at https:// placefirst.co.uk/north-eastartist-of-the-year-2021/,whether that be traditional paintings, photography, sketches or digital art. The three winners and age group finalists will also have their artwork showcased at the new Scholars View show home in Hetton from March 2021 where members of the public will be invited to attend, with the opportunity to sell their pieces.
The competition will be judged by a panel of North East art experts and will be open to the public vote to help crown their winner of three age groups – Primary School (5-10), Secondary School (11-15) and over 16s.
David Mawson, chief executive at Placefirst, said: "The past few months have inspired many of us to take up a creative hobby, and what better way to celebrate this than to offer the chance for someone to showcase their work to the public and expert artists.”
Entries must be placed before 11.59pm on March 31, 2021, with the winner announced in April 2021.