Toyota Ireland has announced that budding Irish artists under the age of 16 can now enter their submissions for the annual Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

The contest encourages children to imagine what their dream car would be and then to share their vision by drawing or painting it.

The national competition will see nine Irish finalists awarded a range of prizes at the official awards ceremony in Dublin in March 2017, and their winning entries will then compete against other international finalists for a chance to win a once in a lifetime trip to Japan.

A panel of three judges, Oliver Whelan, Lecturer in Fine Art and Painting at NCAD, RTE star Blathnaid Treacy and a representative from Toyota Ireland have the tough job of selecting three finalists in each age category (under 8 years, 8-11 years and 12-15 years) as the national winners.

Commenting on the announcement, Ian Corbett, Toyota Ireland Marketing Manager said, “Toyota is passionate about unlocking the potential of youth in Ireland and the Dream Car Art Contest provides a perfect platform for young Irish artists to showcase their talents with the opportunity to compete on a global stage. Each year, we are delighted by the exceptional level of artistic talent from children in Ireland, and we can’t wait to start viewing the masterpieces that are produced for this year’s contest.”

How to Enter:
Young artists are being asked to draw or paint their vision of a ‘Dream Car’ using standard art materials (digital submissions will not be accepted).  All entries must be in colour and include a car and a background or setting on an A3 size paper.

All submissions can be entered by dropping art work into an Authorised Toyota Dealership or sending it to Toyota Ireland, Killeen Road, Dublin 12 and clearly mark it ‘Toyota Dream Car Art Contest’.  The submission must be accompanied by an entry form which can be downloaded from www.toyota.ie/Dream-car-art. The contest will be open until 24th February 2017.

The nine Irish winners’ works will go on to compete against international winners for Gold, Silver and Bronze in a global competition with a grand prize of a once-in-a lifetime trip to Japan.