Plenty of the world’s most famous artists started their careers when they were still young whippersnappers — Dalí created his first work at six years old (although, ironically, it was more Realist than his later works), Michelangelo was painting intricate masterpieces from his early teens and Picasso’s artist father gave up his artistic dreams when he realised that, at 13, his son’s skills surpassed his own.
Now, a new competition to find today’s creative child prodigies will give ten young artists the chance to have their work shown on billboards across the UK this September. Launched by BIC® KIDS, in partnership with Mumsnet, the contest is open to children from the age of five to eleven. “It's a rare parent who doesn't have a junior masterpiece plastered on their fridge, but not many can say that that drawing has been displayed on an actual billboard, so we're anticipating some really amazing submissions,” says Kate Williams, the editor at Mumsnet.