An annual art competition is going virtual in response to the coronavirus crisis and school closures.

The Maltings Shopping Centre is relaunching the event as the Maltings Virtual Art Prize, with budding artists asked to create a work of art celebrating the story of our amazing city.

The theme is the history of St Albans, and inspiration can be taken from across the centuries, including the Romans, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Victorian Age.

Teachers are asked to contact their pupils and invite them to take part, and although the criteria remain the same entries can be photographed and emailed through.

Centre manager Phil Corrigan said: “We launched this year’s Maltings Art Prize back in early March, but so much has changed since then that we needed to adapt and redesign our competition accordingly – and the Maltings Virtual Art Prize 2020 was born.

“The competition is a great way to engage with the community and given the current situation feels even more important. We hope the Maltings Virtual Art Prize will not only encourage the development of art skills but will also give our students a great project to work on while staying safe at home.

“We hope this year’s Virtual Art Prize attracts even more schools and inspires even more budding young artists in St Albans – good luck everyone!”

The top prize is £1,000 for the winning child’s school art department, and £250 for them. Although it may not be possible to hold an awards presentation evening this year all finalists will be recognised for their work.

The winning pieces will be displayed in a virtual exhibition online later this year and will include artwork from the finalists, group winners and the overall winner.

Please email a photo of the artwork and a photo of the child holding their artwork to give an idea of scale.

The email and artwork should include the child’s name, contact details, date of birth, name of current school and group category they are entering.

Schools should register to enter via email to hertsad@archant.co.uk using the subject of Maltings Virtual Art Prize between April 3 and 5pm on April 30, and artwork should be emailed by July July 31.