Eden Arts has launched a Young Cumbrian Artist of the Year award, as part of its huge and popular C-Art project.

Cumbrian artists aged 15-24 are invited to enter the competition, which is aimed at helping the development of their art practice and careers.

Shortlisted entries will be featured on a dedicated website and online gallery, which will be promoted nationally. A panel of arts professionals will select an overall winner and the winning artist will receive a £500 cash prize and a Derwent limited edition pencil box worth £500.

To take part in the competition entrants need to submit three photographs of their work, along with a short artist statement. Any visual art medium will be accepted, including painting, sculpture, textiles, illustration, photography, digital media and video. Entries need to be submitted by April 20. To take part visit www.c-art.org.uk/news-and-events.

Eden Arts director Adrian Lochhead said the award was a natural progression for EA as it seeks to support and help develop Cumbria’s already rich visual arts scene.

He added: “Over the last three years we have been developing C-Art as a brand for the celebration of Cumbria’s artists and we have been delighted with its success; for example there were a record 26,563 individual visits to studios and galleries and £139,392 in sales to artists during C-Art events in 2013.

“This tells us that there is an appetite for and interest in art in Cumbria.

“We know that art and culture makes a huge contribution to Cumbria’s tourist economy, so the Young Cumbrian Artist of the Year award is a natural step for us to take as we seek to develop, nurture and celebrate new talent – I know that the standard is going to be very high.”

The competition follows last year’s successful Young Curator scheme, which saw Cumbrian students work with professional curators from Kendal’s Abbot Hall and Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts to select the artwork for the C-Art at Rheged exhibition that subsequently had 10,000 visitors.

Now in its fourth year, C-Art is Cumbria’s largest visual arts event, with a two-week long programme of artist open studios, exhibitions, gallery open days, workshops and special events across the county in addition to a year round events programme.

The 2014 open studio event takes place from September 13-28 and a new C-Art website will be launched before summer.

For further details on the event and competition visit www.c-art.org.uk or telephone Eden Arts on 01768-899444.