HAVE you spotted a great piece of public art?

If so, the organisers of a competition to find pieces worth prizes of up to £20,000 want to hear from you.

For the first time in the history of the Rouse Kent Public Art Awards, the people of Kent and Medway are being invited to nominate their favourite piece.

It could be a great sculpture, a mosaic, wall hanging, street furniture or mural, either open to the elements or inside a building or other structure. But it must have been completed between April 2006 and March 2007.

The Rouse Kent Public Art Award is given annually by Liberty Property Trust UK, the developer of the Kings Hill business park near West Malling, in partnership with Kent County Council and Arts Council England, South East.

The competition has been running for more than 10 years and now offers one of the largest art prizes in the UK.

With so much new housing earmarked for Kent, KCC and the other sponsors are keen to promote the benefits of public art in creating a sense of place in new communities.

A £5,000 prize is earmarked for a new homebuilder category.

Anyone wishing to nominate a piece of public art for the Rouse Kent Public Art Award should contact Clair Bushnell at KCC on 01622 696460 or email clair.bushnell@kent.gov.uk.

A nomination form can be downloaded from www.rousekentpublicartaward.co.uk. Closing date for entries is March 2.

Judges include Vivien Taylor, an architect with Liberty Property Trust UK; architect Chris Marsh; Stephanie Fuller, South East visual arts officer with the Arts Council; Kevin Wilson of Artpoint; urban planner Michael Pinsky; Trisha Gupta, of Countryside Properties; and Rick Kirby, artit and winner of the Rouse Kent Public Art Award in 1998 for "Ring of Hope" in Cranbrook.

They will draw up a shortlist by March 23 and the winner will be announced at a VIP dinner at the Kings Hill Golf Club on May 23.