A COMMUNITY exhibition with more than 7,000 entries is up for a regional award.

Thousands of amateur and professional artists showed their work at Solent University’s Small Faces exhibition, at the city centre Solent Showcase Gallery.

With entries from toddlers to nonagenarians the show invited talented locals to draw a postcard sized portrait for the exhibition-with-a-difference.

There were no judges or prizes - just the chance to have work shown and seen by art-lovers across the city.

Now the show, which attracted 3,000 visitors, has been shortlisted in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) regional PRide awards for best community relations campaign.

Curator Kate Maple said: “We were overwhelmed by the response from the community for this project – it really was created by everyone, for everyone. Every single submission was displayed , transforming the gallery into a sea of faces.

“As well as offering artists the chance to exhibit in a professional gallery, the exhibition removed barriers, allowing more people to take part in a creative activity. For many visitors, this was the first time they’d come to a gallery.

“The exhibition was packed with personal stories: a teenage girl with a terminal illness had the opportunity to debut her artwork; a 90-year-old created artwork for the first time in 40 years; and a group of refugees remembered those they’d left behind.

“The Small Faces exhibition became a hub of students, staff, artists and individuals, working together to produce a collective act of creativity.”

It has been shortlisted in the south of England and Channel Islands region. It is competing against Bournemouth Borough Council and Dorset’s nine councils’ “reshaping your councils” campaign, Rolls-Royce’s “the biggest unveil for the smallest Rolls-Royce” campaign and Camargue’s “100 miles of electrifying community relations” campaign.

Solent’s magazine, Great Strides, has also been shortlisted, for best publication.

The awards will be held on November 17 in Bristol.