ARTISTS are being invited to take part in a competition to help bring a little colour to Newport's high street.

The Newport Then and Now street window graphics competition is inviting artists, photographers and designers to think of empty shop windows in the city centre as blank canvases and to submit works of art for the chance to win a £500 cash prize.

Supported by the South Wales Argus, the competition is being organised by Newport Now Business Improvement District in conjunction with Newport City Council, Queensberry Real Estate, Newport Live and Upmarket Galleries.

A spokeswoman said: "We are inviting submissions from local artists, photographers and designers to take part in an exciting new initiative to add a little colour to Newport’s high street."

And she added that while the economy of the city has suffered in the past the scale of regeneration works currently under way make Newport very much a city on the rise.

"We here at Newport Now want to celebrate this transition, and do our bit to give the city centre the facelift it needs.

"Consider this – an art exhibition that sees the windows of empty retail units not as vacancies, but as blank canvases! That’s what we’re proposing with our window graphics street exhibition, Newport: Then and Now."

The competition is invitingartists, designers and photographers from the local area to create a piece that reflects this transformational time in Newport’s history.

"The brief is open to personal interpretation, with the one condition that it needs to present a positive message about the city. We want to celebrate our city’s rich past and its vibrant present, and would welcome submissions from any artistic medium."

A shortlist of winners will have their work displayed as window graphics in the street exhibition around the city centre. An overall winner, selected through a public vote, will then receive a cash prize of £500.

The competition is open to people of all ages and skill levels.

Submissions must be received before Setpember 30, 2015.

For full details on how to enter visit www.newportbid.com or email barrie@newportbid.com