Fancy having your artwork put on display? Here's how you can join the Shrewsbury Arts Trail

Submissions have now opened for the 2024 Shrewsbury Arts trail on a new theme of 'Time'.

The arts trail has grown year on year, attracting national and international publicity to the town last summer, when it saw sculptures by Salvador Dali and Jacob Chandler exhibited in the open air at the castle, in the museum courtyard and in The Dingle pond.

Details of this year's headline artists will follow soon, but organisers want to make sure that as many local established and emerging artists get the opportunity to exhibit during this year's Arts Trail as possible, with a deadline for submissions of May 17.

Successful candidates will be exhibited at venues including Shrewsbury Museum & Arts Gallery, The Parade Shops and Shrewsbury Market Hall throughout July and August.

The 2024 Shrewsbury Arts Trail will once again include the 'Inspirational Exhibition' at Shrewsbury Museum & Arts Gallery. Last year's exhibition included works by Picasso, Hockney, Banksy, Dali, JPR Stitch, Kris Lamba, Jacob Chandler, Halima Cassell, Lowry, Hirst, Matisse, Miro and more.

Shrewsbury Arts Trail founder Jess Richards said: "We want people to come and join a community of established and emerging artists, making new connections and gaining exposure. Their work could be seen by tens of thousands of people.

"We are not just looking for people to paint a moment from history, we want to see how you they capture the invisible, the intangible, the impossible.

"Will they, like Monet, try to paint the essence of a moment in time? Will they follow the surrealists, such as Dali, who looked to allow their unconscious mind to lead their artistic expression?

"Will they choose to work in unconventional materials such as light, mirrors and space like Yayoi Kusama has done with her Infinity Mirror Rooms? We want to see how people capture the unobtainable, the invisible, the intangible, the impossible – how they visualise time, history or even emotions and spirituality.

"We want to see it all. We want to see art that talks to a deeper part of us, that touches our essence, our soul."

Regional artists of all ages, working in any medium, are invited to apply with a deadline of May 17. There is a charge for submissions: £6 for one/£10 for two or £13 for three works. Find the submissions form on the Shrewsbury Arts Trail website.