Do you live, work or study in Croydon?

Would you like the chance to publicly exhibit your work across the town centre and be paid £750?

If so, this competition is for you.

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Deadline: Tuesday 9 June 2026.

 

The Croydonist, Croydon BID and local design studio 31% Wool (that’s us!) have teamed up to deliver the fifth instalment of the Creative Croydon outdoor exhibition which will adorn lampposts across the centre of Croydon later this summer.

 

What to enter:

Three pieces of art (in any static media). These could be pieces of art you have already created, or pieces you create specifically for the competition. The art does not need to directly link to Croydon, and there is no specific theme other than feeling vibrant to brighten our town centre’s streets as we move into summer. 

 

Deadline:

Tuesday 9 June 2026, 5pm.

 

Format:

The pieces of art will need to be supplied or cropped to portrait format (see more below). 

 

The selection process:

All entries will be judged by a panel of artists (who have shown work in previous Creative Croydon exhibitions). Three artists will be chosen for this year’s exhibition. Read more about the judges below.

 

The successful entrants:

The three chosen artists will each receive a £750 commission for their work to be exhibited across Croydon’s lamppost banners.

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How to enter: 

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• Download this A4 template pdf here.

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• Place your three pieces of art into the portrait boxed areas (Please note the banner format is different to previous years’).

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• Save with your surname and first name in the file name. (You can download an example pdf here for reference). 

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• Fill out your details in the form below.

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• (And most importantly) click the 'Send art' button below to email your saved A4 pdf of your art pieces to 31% Wool (or directly email your art to julia@31percentwool.com with CREATIVE CROYDON 2026 ENTRY in the subject line).

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• Please note, we only need low-resolution art for you to enter (maximum file size: 5mb), but if you are successful you will need to provide higher resolution pieces. (See below).

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• You must be 16 or over to enter (16 and 17 year olds will need guardian consent).

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• We are looking to exhibit new artists so if you are a previous Creative Croydon artist you are unable to enter.  

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The final pieces of art:

The successful entrants will need to provide their three pieces at high resolution (412.5mm wide by 1100mm high at 320dpi) – 31% Wool will liaise with the artists to help with this.

 

When will entrants be notified?

By Tuesday 23 June 2026

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Where can I see work from previous Creative Croydon exhibitions?

View the Creative Croydon case study here.