"Celebration of Creativity," a mixed media artwork by Susanne Gilmore, has been selected as the work of art that will represent the 2016 Newtown Arts Festival, festival chair Terry Sagedy has announced.

Ms Gilmore, of Shelton, used ink, watercolors and acrylic paint to create this year's design. "Celebration of Creativity" features a stylized flagpole - one of Newtown's landmark symbols - surrounded by symbols of the performing and visual arts. It will eventually be featured on posters and T-shirts.

"I envisioned the flagpole as paintbrush," the artist said, "And then surrounded it with as many artistic images I could without making it too busy."

The design was selected from numerous entries. Professional and amateur artists were challenged last fall to create an image for the fifth annual festival.

A self-taught artist, Ms Gilmore is a native of Sweden. She and her husband, Bob, have two sons, Ben and Evan.

The 2016 Newtown Arts Festival will feature cultural events "Wednesdays and Weekends" throughout September. The Rooster Ball is set for Friday, September 16, and the two-day Celebration of the Arts on the grounds of Fairfield Hills will be Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18.

Additional festival details and schedules will be announced at a later time.

Meanwhile, the deadline for artists to submit applications for booths is May 1. Visit newtownartsfestival.com and click on 2016 Artisan Application (under the Artists button at the top of the page) for an online application.