Central Lakes Trust (CLT) is celebrating 25 years of giving back, and it’s turning to the region’s young artists to capture the spirit of the occasion. 

The Cromwell-based community funder has launched an art competition for students in Years 7 to 13.  

The winning design will be printed on a commemorative tea towel and feature on the cover of the trust’s 2026 Annual Report. 

CLT chief executive Barbara Bridger said the competition was to involve the next generation in the trust’s anniversary. 

“We wanted to commemorate this milestone with something special and felt that involving our community’s youth in creating a piece of art would encourage participation, creativity, and connection,” she said. 

The theme is ‘giving’, encouraging entrants to reflect on generosity, community, and the impact of people working together. 

With school holidays underway it’s the perfect time for budding artists to get stuck in.

All entries will be displayed at the trust’s scholarships award ceremony at the start of November, where the winners will be announced. 

A judging panel led by Central Otago portrait painter Dee Copeland will choose the top three. 

“Dee will be looking for impact and wow factor, originality, composition, creativity and technical ability,” Barbara said. 

“The artworks will also be judged on their relevance and suitability for screen printing on a tea towel.” 

There’s also a people’s choice award, to be decided by public voting on the CLT Facebook page. 

Prizes include $350 for first place, $250 for second, $200 for third, and $200 for the people’s choice winner. 

Barbara said the competition is one part of a wider 25th-anniversary programme. 

“We will be marking this important milestone by hosting a series of afternoon teas throughout our region in 2026 to enable us to celebrate with our grantees.” 

Since its establishment in 2000, CLT has distributed close to $160M in community grants and grown its assets from $155M to more than $571M. 

Recent grants have supported everything from new toys for the Alexandra Toy Library to an emergency hub for the Bannockburn Community Centre. 

Full competition details, including guidelines and the online entry form, are on the trust’s website. 

Entries are open now and close at 4pm on Friday, October 10. 

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