DORSET residents have just 10 days left to send in their submissions for a Daily Echo-backed art competition worth £8,000.

The Bournemouth and Poole College Art Prize aims to encourage school children, college students and adults from across the county to get creative, with the closing date for initial registrations and submissions on Sunday, May 18.

Aspiring artists are given the starting point of the theme, which is People and their Environment, and are then free to interpret the meaning using imagination.

There are several categories for entrants including the 14-to-15 Years Art Competition, 16-to-18 Years Art Competition, the £3,000 Bursary for Best Art and Design Student at Bournemouth and Poole College, and the Digital Arts Prize.

Nick Day, Head of Art and Design at Bournemouth and Poole College, said: “There’s just under two weeks to go for applicants to enter The Bournemouth and Poole College Art Prize, so if you’re thinking about entering, now is the time to do it.

“Anyone can enter and there are a range of amazing cash prizes to win, totalling £8,000.

“The standard of the work entered so far has been very high, and there has been a wide variety of media submitted via our website. So if you have a creative flair, don’t miss the opportunity to have your artistic talent recognised.”

An independent panel of three judges, consisting of artist Stuart Semple, international photographer,Tony Worobiec and Michael Spender, Museum and Arts Manager for Borough of Poole, will choose the winning entries.

Theses will go on show in an exhibition around Dorset.

Visit thecollege.co.uk/artprize