The Rouse Kent Public Art Award was born put of a desire to encourage public art in Kent - a goal shared by its sponsors, Kent County Council, Liberty Property Trust UK (formerly Rouse Kent) and Arts Council England, South East. 2006 is the Award's 13th anniversary.

The Award is made annually to acknowledge the best example of public art commissioned and completed in the county each year. The purpose of the Award is to focus public attention on the benefits of public art and to stimulate the commissioning of new work in urban and rural areas of Kent. The works of art, can encompass anything from sculpture and murals to street furniture and needs to be installed between 1st April 2006 and 31st March 2007. Nominations are invited from the people of the county and co-ordinated by Kent County Council, Cultural Development. Judging is carried out in the spring by a panel comprising the sponsors and relevant art experts; each year chaired by a special guest from the art world, who presents the Award at the celebration dinner.

In 2006 the total prize money increased to £20,000 to include a new homebuilder category. Sponsored by Kent County Council, the aim is to encourage homebuilders to commission public art in new housing developments across Kent. A quarter of the prize money, £5,000, is being utilised to continue to develop this emerging category. By developing a deeper understanding of the role public art can play, through integration in scheme design, housing developments of the future will have a sense of place and a differentiating identity that will evoke a sense of pride in residents. The homebuilder award is a part of a bigger movement to encourage large scale investment in good design, public realm, green space, cultural provision and other forms of public art. All these aspects are contributing to making Kent a great place to live and work for all residents.

The commissioner of the winning piece from the main category receives the Rouse chair, designed by Kentish craftsman Will Glanfield, with their details engraved on it, to keep in a place of honour for a year. Both the commissioner and the artist of the winning piece from this category will now share £15,000 to be invested at their discretion in commissioning further public art and to be used for the artist's professional development.

The Rouse Kent Public Art Award forms part of the Kings Hill Developing Arts Programme. This in turn forms part of the wider Kings Hill philosophy, devoted to creating a vibrant social infrastructure at the 800 acre mixed use, sustainable development. Indeed, Liberty Property Trust UK commissions public art on an ongoing basis to enhance the development's highly landscaped environment, to promote a cultural bridge between the growing Kings Hill community and Kent.