Graffiti News

The Union Gardens street art competition in Worthing is seeking designs from artists aged 21 and under for a hoarding panel on Chatsworth Road. According to The Argus, developer Roffey Homes is running the contest in connection with its Union Gardens site. The winner will receive £250 and have their artwork displayed on the south-east hoarding panel.

The invitation brings together a defined location, an age limit and a design brief. For an artist considering an entry, the practical task is to submit both evidence of earlier work and a proposal responding to the Union Gardens theme. For readers following the local street art scene, the announcement concerns a proposed display; it does not announce a completed artwork.

The Union Gardens art contest is open to under-22s

Street artists aged 21 and under are invited to enter, The Argus reports. That wording includes artists who are 21. Roffey Homes, identified in the report as a Worthing developer, is the organiser, and the competition forms part of its Union Gardens site.

The report does not specify a residency requirement or say that entrants must be students. Readers should therefore avoid treating either of those conditions as established. The stated age limit is the eligibility detail available in the article; additional questions about who can apply would need an answer from the organiser.

An entry needs previous work and a new themed design

Entrants must provide examples of previous work together with a design based on Union Gardens, according to The Argus. The submission therefore has two parts: existing work to show the artist's practice, and a design addressing the subject set for this particular panel.

The report names the theme without spelling out a required visual treatment. It does not prescribe colours, imagery or a particular interpretation of Union Gardens. A garden scene, architectural image or other motif should not be presented as compulsory on the strength of the project name alone.

The article also gives no panel dimensions or submission file specifications. Those details matter when moving from an idea to a design intended for a specific surface, but they remain questions for the organiser rather than confirmed requirements. The published brief supports preparing work around the named theme, without assuming technical instructions that have not been supplied.

Entries go by email by Friday 13 November 2026

The Argus gives Friday 13 November 2026 as the submission deadline and max@roffeyhomes.com as the email address for entries. Artists preparing to apply should keep the previous-work examples and the Union Gardens design together in their submission planning.

No closing time is specified in the report. The stated date should not be turned into an assumed midnight deadline, and the article does not establish a time zone for submissions. Anyone needing a precise cut-off would have to confirm that detail with the organiser.

The submission deadline is also distinct from a public unveiling. The report does not give a winner announcement date or an installation date, so 13 November should not be treated as the day visitors can expect to see the selected work.

The prize combines £250 with a named display location

The winning artist will receive £250 and see their work displayed on the south-east hoarding panel, The Argus reports. Chatsworth Road is the location named for the panel design in the invitation. These details give the competition a specific physical destination as well as a cash award.

The article describes a panel, without announcing a scheme to cover every hoarding surface at the site. It also does not explain who will produce or install the finished piece, how the design will be transferred to the panel, or how long the display will remain. The £250 award should therefore not be described as a materials budget or a complete production fee.

Creative Waves' founder highlights visibility for young artists

Nadia Chalk, founder and director of Creative Waves, sees value in giving young creatives a town-centre audience, according to The Argus. She said she would encourage the young artists and designers she works with to enter.

Chalk's assessment centres on access to a busy location and the confidence that a public display could bring. She described such opportunities as uncommon for young creatives and suggested that having work in their own town could give them something to take pride in. Those are her expectations for the project, rather than measured outcomes from a finished competition.

For artists, the immediate point of entry remains the themed design and examples of earlier work. For people hoping to view the eventual result, the useful distinction is between the announced opportunity and the display still to come. The Argus report establishes the application route, reward and intended panel, while the timing of the finished artwork remains unspecified.