Budding young artists from across Devon and Cornwall can have their work displayed alongside famous names like Man Ray and Salvador Dali in a new art competition at Plymouth’s The Box.

The 2025 Children and Young People’s Art Competition is being run in partnership with Arts University Plymouth, and is inspired by Surrealism, a famous art movement that explored the creative potential of the mind and challenged reality.

Anyone aged up to 25 years old living in Devon and Cornwall can enter in this year’s competition entitled 'Surreal Estates’. Entrants are being asked to use surrealist techniques like collage, photomontage or echo poems to explore the landscape around them.

“We really hope as many children and young people as possible from across the region will take part this year,” said Tony Davey, engagement officer at The Box.

“They can take inspiration from so many places – home, school, college, university, work, the beach, the countryside or more.

“We have some really talented young artists here in the South West and have received some fantastic entries since we started running this competition a couple of years ago. We can’t wait to see what everyone submits this time around.”

The competition is split into three different age categories – primary school, secondary school and 18-25 years, and work can be submitted in any medium including film (max 30 seconds).

The winners and a selection of entries from the competition will go on display at The Box at the same time as ‘Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surreal Landscapes’ between May 24 and September 7. This major exhibition celebrates a century of Surrealism and explores its enduring influence.

To take part all you need to do is email a high quality photograph of your artwork or send your film to [email protected] and label the file with initials, date and category.