The 2025 Swadlincote Festival of Words is delighted to be partnering with Derbyshire Makes to curate an art exhibition & trail featuring the Swad dialect.

The exhibition and trail will run from Thursday 20 March 2025 – Sunday 27 April 2025 across a variety of locations in Swadlincote Town Centre and will feature a visual representation of the Swad dialect demonstrating the use of dialect today.

Art submissions are invited from artists, community groups, schools and individuals of all ages and all backgrounds to submit works on paper in any style using any medium preferred. Painting, drawings, comic strips, caricature, cartoon, graffiti, photography, paper cutting, decoupage and collage are all perfectly acceptable mediums.

Artists are encouraged to peruse the list of current Swad words and phrases and use their imagination to interpret them in a fun and imaginative way or perhaps words used in your family!

Successful applicants can expect

• To have their selected artwork included in the Swad's 'Reet Good' Art Exhibition in one of the participating exhibition venues and as part of an online exhibition.

• To be eligible to win an award and an accompanying prize.

• For their artwork to be selected for future projects

• If selected for an award, for their artwork to appear on the Swadlincote Festival of Words website for the year and in a future edition of SwadStyle.

Eligibility

• Any original piece of art using paint, crayon, ink, pencil, paper, tissue or any other medium suitable for 2D is accepted.

• No prints, copies, reproductions or photographs are eligible

• All work should be on a paper support i.e. paper, cardboard, etc (not canvas, wood, plastic or any other surface.

• Size should not exceed A3 portrait or landscape (290mm x 420mm or 11.7 inches x 15.6 inches)

• The work must have been made by the applicant

Awards & Prizes

• Best in Show: Overall strongest work of art across media

• Young Artist of the Year (16 years and under): Overall strongest work of art across media

• Most Imaginative Work of Art

• Most Creative Work of Art

• Best use of Colour

• Voters Choice Award

How to Enter

• Entry deadline: Friday 14th February 2025, 5.00pm

• All works must be an original creation by the artist

• Each artist may submit up to 3 pieces of work

• Each artist should ensure their name, age category, postcode and contact email address and/or telephone number is visible on the reverse together with the dialectal word or phrase used in the interpretation

• Artworks needs to be submitted in person to one of the collection venues including:

- People Express, Sharpe’s Industrial Estate, West Street, Swadlincote DE11 9DG

- Swadlincote Library, Civic Way, Swadlincote, DE11

• The works for exhibition are selected by a committee formed of members of the Swadlincote Festival of Words and Derbyshire Makes.

• Artworks* will be available for return at the end of the exhibition i.e. after 30 April 2025. For postal returns, please include a suitably sized self-addressed stamped envelope (with the correct postage based on weight and size). Collections in person can be from 5-9 May 2025.